By Watipaso Mzungu:
Former Member of Parliament and People’s Party (PP) spokesperson, Ackson Kalaile Banda, has blamed the re-introduction of Power Market Limited (PML) for the current wave of persistent electricity blackouts, saying the entity is the root cause of the crisis.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Banda dismissed suggestions of sabotage being behind the blackouts and instead pointed to policy decisions and leadership failures.
“I have observed attempts by some quarters to compare the current persistent blackouts with the situation just a year ago, when such blackouts were largely absent. Some have even suggested sabotage. In my view, this is not sabotage. It is fundamentally a matter of policy decisions and leadership,” he said.
He referenced the Speaker of Parliament Sameer Suleman’s recent announcement of an investigation into Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM), Electricity Generation Company (EGENCO) and PML, and gave a brief history of how the power sector was structured.
“Before: We had one integrated power company, ESCOM, managing about 360MW. It worked. The creation of EGENCO as a separate generation company was met with resistance. The DPP administration then introduced PML. PML was given the mandate to buy and manage all power produced by EGENCO and ESCOM, and to sell it. This too was met with strong resistance from the two generation entities, and it is still a big problem,” he said.
According to Banda, the situation improved when the Tonse Alliance administration took office and removed PML.
“With that, the two generation companies cooperated and power generation improved and stabilized,” he said.
He argued that the re-introduction of PML under the current arrangement “appears to be the root cause of the problems we are experiencing today.”
Banda, who said he is speaking from experience gained during his tenure in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) at Parliament, also criticized the continued creation of new entities in the energy sector, including the leasing of gensets.
“In my view, [this is] less about improving power supply and more about serving the interests of a few individuals,” he said.
“Malawi has the resources to power this nation. What we lack is the will to put national interest above personal interests,” he added.
Banda called for decisive leadership that rises above partisan politics, and gave a direct recommendation on how to end the blackouts.
“The position is simple: As long as PML remains the middle-man managing resources for the two generating institutions, we should forget about ending these blackouts. The blackouts are a systemic response. Remove PML and we can have power. Maintain PML and we will continue to have persistent blackouts,” he said.
The statement comes as ESCOM on Tuesday confirmed a nationwide blackout that began at 10:45pm, citing a system shutdown whose cause was still being investigated.
Business owners and residents across the country have complained that persistent outages are hurting the economy and daily livelihoods.
