Escom under fire over power use restrictions
Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) has come under fire from consumers and small-scale entrepreneurs for its plan to restrict customers from using residential premises for business.
The Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) and Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprise expressed their reactions in separate interviews with The Nation in reaction to a statement from Escom that went viral on Friday.
Reads the Escom notice in part: “Your dwelling house was supplied with electricity at the appropriate tariffs for residential premises. Use of residential premises for commercial/ businesses is illegal and subject to stiff penalties.”
But Cama executive director John Kapito and Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises executive secretary James Chiutsi said Escom’s decision was ill-timed.
Kapito observed that if Escom will proceed to enforce its planned decision, both consumers and SMEs will be heavily affected.
He said: “We have received a number of complaints on the notice and if we say they [SMEs] cannot conduct small income generating activities such as salons or shops around those areas, then where are we going to get such services in the townships? How will people earn a living?
“I thought in Malawi we rely on those small and medium scale businesses operating within our communities to provide a living to the unemployed?”
On the other hand, Chiutsi said SMEs are key to the country’s economic growth and, thus, expressed disappointment with Escom over the directive which he suspected is meant to boost the parastatals revenue collection than supporting aspirations in Malawi 2063, the country’s long-term development strategy.
He said: “SMEs are not operating in residential premises by choice, but because the Malawi economy is very tough and they cannot afford to operate in industrial areas. When they have established themselves from there, then, they can move to that level.
“We find the Escom directive to be very retrogressive and unhelpful.”
Chiutsi advised Escom to consult with stakeholders such as the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre on how to implement the order.
“If Escom goes ahead with its plan SMEs members will challenge that by either obtaining an injunction or holding demonstrations nationwide,” he said.
But in a written response yesterday, Escom public relations manager Kitty Chingota said the notice was released prematurely.
“That flyer is not official. It was released prematurely. So consider it non-existent,” she said.
However, since the flyer “prematurely” went viral on Friday, Escom has not issued a statement to disown the same.
Escom is currently going through financial difficulties with its chief executive officer Kamkwamba Kumwenda on August 9 this year admitting that the utility is on its deathbed, with piles of losses.
Speaking during a press conference in Blantyre he said the company has cumulatively lost K112 billion since its unbundling in 2018 and for it to turn around its fortunes, it has to revise tariffs.
