Deputy Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC) Janet Banda has called for innovative solutions to address energy challenges and unlock the country’s growth potential.
She said this on Wednesday in Lilongwe during the opening of the Integrated Resource Planning and Power Sector Coordination delivery lab.
Banda, who is also Presidential Delivery Unit head, said foreign exchange scarcity has created a volatile environment for energy pricing and supply.
She said: “We need to find innovative solutions to these problems. We may not find a lasting solution to the pressing challenges such as the foreign exchange crisis, but we can find ways of managing with the meagre forex that we have.”
In a separate interview, Minister of Mining Monica Chang’anamuno said the solutions and action points identified at the lab would help to unlock the mining sector, which requires a lot of energy.
“We cannot have a vibrant mining sector without energy. To operate the mines, you need to have a reliable and sustainable energy source,” she said.
During the previous pre-lab meetings, PDU and stakeholders in the energy sector validated 19 critical problems in the energy sector, but delegates were concerned with the uncertainty surrounding tariff implementation and the application of the automatic tariff adjustment formula.
The delegates were also concerned with the delays to set up the rural electrification agency, which has hindered efforts to bring electricity to remote areas as well the procurement challenges and delays in finalising Independent Power Producers framework. The delivery labs seek to create milestones that will ensure the sustainability, affordability and accessibility of energy for all.
