Environmental management to improve power supply

Stakeholders in Zomba have been challenged to use resources in the Millennium Challenge Account Malawi (MCA-Malawi) to come up with projects that will empower communities along the Shire River to improve the environment and natural resources to end electricity supply shortages in the country.

MCA-Malawi settlement officer, Edith Maseya, made the call when she briefed members of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and government departments at a meeting aimed at sensitising them to the availability of the funds to be dispersed to NGOs and community-based organisations (CBOs) based on their proposals in the Shire River Basin catchment area.

“The objective of the Millennium Challenge Compact [MCC] is, among others, to mitigate the growing problems of aquatic weed infestation and excessive sedimentation in Shire River Basin to reduce costly disruptions to Malawi’s hydropower generation,” Maseya explained.

She said the MCC is a five-year power sector revitalisation programme in the energy sector that will improve electricity power supply through conservation of the catchment area of the Shire River targeting Balaka, Ntcheu, Zomba, Blantyre, Neno, Mangochi and Machinga districts.

“It has been discovered that some of the inefficiency of Escom power is as a result of lack of environmental management such as control of weeds, poor agricultural practices and settlement, especially within the Shire River Basin catchment area, which is used to produce hydroelectric power both at Nkula and Kapichira power stations,” Maseya said.

She, therefore, said there was need to encourage sustainable agriculture, sustainable land use and reafforestation in the communities, adding this could only be achieved through sector coordination and funding of NGOs and CBOs projects from the MCC fund.

Maseya disclosed that MCA will fund successful project proposals of NGOs for up to $450 000 (about K202 million) per year, saying there was no quota for each district.

Welcoming the opportunity, Zomba World Vision manager Jacob Mazibuko said environmental degradation in the country is so alarming that it needs thorough research to deal with the causes to avoid wasting resources.

MCA-Malawi is an independent entity with an overall responsibility to implement the programme on behalf of the government which was incorporated as a public trust in December 2012 under the Trustees Incorporation Act (Cap 5:03) of the laws of Malawi.—Mana