Mzimba CSOs engage Escom on power outages
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Mzimba on Friday stormed Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) office in the district to demand answers on intermittent power supply in Mzimba South.
In an interview after a meeting in camera, Mzimba CSO Network chairperson Christopher Melele said it was unfortunate that people of Mzimba were experiencing prolonged power outages despite improvement in power supply at national level.
He said the blackouts were affecting the provision of essential services and businesses.
Melele said: “It is unfortunate that the district has been experiencing blackouts since September 2023 despite the Electricity Generation Company [Egenco] fixing the damaged Kapichira Hydro Plant last year.
“So, today we decided to engage the district’s Escom officials to appreciate the causes of these power outages.”
He said the district’s Escom officials team led by the district manager Curthbet Ngwira referred them to the regional Escom offices (North) in Mzuzu.
In an interview, Escom regional manager (North) Thomas Mzumara attributed the blackouts to vandalism of Escom property and cutting down of trees along Escom electricity lines between Chikangawa and Raiply in Mzimba.
“These continued acts of vandalism have caused many problems for us to supply power to Mzimba. We are planning to engage all stakeholders to find a solution,” he said.
Mzimba district commissioner Rodney Simwaka admitted that the power outage has affected service delivery.
Mzimba Boma Main Market chairperson Fiskani Nyirenda also said the power outages have affected businesses that rely on electricity to operate.
