Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Ben Phiri has turned down Blantyre City Mayor Isaac Jomo Osman’s proposal to allow the council manage electricity and water distribution in the city.
The mayor said persistent electricity and water supply challenges in Blantyre were an indication that Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) and Blantyre Water Board (BWB) were failing city residents.
Speaking during a meeting with the minister yesterday, Osman said: “We receive calls from residents almost daily that some areas go up to four consecutive days without electricity, while others spend as long as two weeks without water, which is pathetic.
“We, therefore, propose that electricity and water distribution and even health facilities in Blantyre City should be managed by Blantyre City Council.”
He said that dealing with utility-related complaints in isolation has proved difficult and continues to negatively affect residents’ daily lives.
But Osman did not explain how the council would manage electricity and water distribution if given the mandate.
In his response, Phiri dismissed the proposal, saying it was a non-starter as it would require a big shift in policy.
The minister also questioned the city council’s capacity to manage such complex services when it was struggling to provide basic services to its residents.
“If you are failing to patch potholes in the city, do you think you can manage the huge task of distributing electricity and water? Do you have engineers with the required expertise?” asked Phiri.
But the minister said he had noted the proposal.
Escom yesterday told The Nation that it is overwhelmed by a surge in reported electricity faults, averaging about 1 500 per day nationwide, which has affected response times.
The parastatal attributed the increase to fallen electricity poles, vandalism of infrastructure, equipment failure and adverse weather conditions. Escom further indicated that it has deployed technical teams across the country, but the volume of simultaneous faults often leads to delays in restoring power.
The Nation search established that Morocco is among African countries where city councils are responsible for water and electricity distribution as well as local health service centres.
In Namibia, while State-owned utilities primarily produce water and electricity, distribution to end users is largely managed by regional and local authorities.
During the meeting, city council chief executive officer Dennis Chinseu said Blantyre needs about K90 billion to rehabilitate roads that were damaged by Cyclone Freddy in 2023. He observed that many roads in Blantyre City are in a dilapidated state and urgently need attention.
In 2023 about 405 kilometres of roads were affected by Cyclone Freddy and government indicated that it needed K29.58 billion to fix them.
