Malawi, US sign Power Africa deal
Malawi and the United States of America (USA) have signed a pact for Lilongwe’s continued participation in Power Africa, a Washington presidential initiative.
Minister of Natural Resources, Energy, and Mining Bright Msaka, US Ambassador Virginia Palmer and Power Africa coordinator Andrew Herscowitz signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on behalf of the two countries last week.
Power Africa is a US government-led initiative that helps bring critical power projects online and connects people to electricity by removing barriers, particularly the financial and regulatory roadblocks that have stood in the way of power delivery in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Power Africa represents the US Government’s commitment to supporting Malawi to achieve its electrification goals and improve the quality of life for thousands of Malawians,” said Palmer at the signing ceremony.
USA is actively partnering with the Government of Malawi to expand access to electricity through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact—a $350.7 million grant to the government of Malawi—and now also through additional and complementary Power Africa support.
In 2015, Malawi became a Power Africa “Progressive Partnership Country,” as such all US Government initiatives in the energy sector in Malawi, including the MCC Compact, are now considered part of the US Government’s broader Power Africa effort to increase generation capacity through private sector investment.
This month, Power Africa approved $1.6 million of support for Malawi.
Beginning in mid-2016, these funds will provide transaction advisory services to the Government of Malawi and Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) to support the negotiation of power purchase agreements to help spur further power generation investments in the country.
