Power outages scaring investors in Malawi
The country’s private sector has said investors are currently shunning Malawi due to, among other reasons, intermittent power supply.
Offering the voice of the private sector on power outages at a business breakfast organised by Millennium Challenge Account-Malawi (MCA-Malawi) in Mzuzu on Tuesday, Mzuzu Coffee managing director Harrison Kaluwa said when potential investors learn of the power outages in the country they “run away”.
“We are failing to attract foreign direct investment [FDI], instead they invest in the neighbouring countries,” said Kaluwa, who also sits on the board of Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (Mitc)—the country’s one-stop investment hub.
He said the country loses more money in just an hour of power failure, therefore, it is not possible to develop with the current power outages.
“Two weeks ago, we almost lost a business deal of sending five tonnes of coffee to China because there was no power for three days and we could not process the order. They almost cancelled,” lamented Kaluwa.
Weighing in on the same, chief executive officer for Northern Region Water Board (NRWB) Titus Mtegha said the outages have a negative impact on water supply.
“In Karonga, there are times we have 18 hours of no power, which means we do not pump water while in Chitipa, we are able to supply just to critical areas like hospitals because we have a generator,” he said.
Mtegha said the board currently loses K22 million a month due to power outages.
Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) public relations manager Kitty Chingota said the frequent power outages are due to low voltage and power loss because of the long transmission from the Southern Region where power is generated to the North.
“Mzuzu also has power failure every fortnight to maintain our wooden poles transmission lines; so bear with us till we construct steel lines and have capacitor banks for the region to have stable power supply,” she said.
Chingota appealed to the private sector in the country to seize an opportunity of excess power supply at night and start producing during off-peak hours.
“We shutdown three or four machines from 8 pm because of excess power and the tariffs are also lower at this time. Companies can take advantage of it and start producing at night,” she said.
Updating the business executives on the progress of the $350.7 million (K181 billion) Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact that aims at, among other objectives, expanding access to electricity in the country, MCA-Malawi chief executive officer Susan Banda said the programme is now ready to go on the market to hire contractors for the infrastructure development for the construction of the 400 kilovolts (kV) power line from Phombeya in Balaka to Nkhoma in Lilongwe and another 132 kV line from Chintheche in Nkhata Bay to Bwengu in the Northern Region.
Banda said contracts for the project will be signed by July 2015.
She said MCA-M has already shortlisted three companies for the Nkula A rehabilitation programme whose work is expected to start in May 2015.
Banda said most of the construction work on the infrastructure development with funds amounting to $257 million will be completed by January 2017, adding that these investments will enhance Malawi’s power network and gives a light at the end of the tunnel on power outages.
ESCOM alone is completely FAILING to cater for all the people.They FAIL even to connect houses of individuals who paid their money some time back like;1year,2yrs,3 & 5yrs ago.All this because of PERVASIVE CORRUPTION which is in this company.You apply for a new connection,then they say ,if you want to be connected quickly,pay another K10,000.00 OR K15,000.00,THAT IS IN MZUZU.BUT OUTSIDE MZUZU,IT’S BEYOND THAT.SO I BELIEVE THE SAME HAPPENS WITH INDUSTRIES.If there is a company which TORTURES Malawians,the FIRST ONE IS CRUEL ESCOM.AND THEY MUST CHANGE THEIR MOTTO OF SAYING ‘POWER ALL DAY’.THE MOTTO MUST TARRY WITH ACTIONS.I DON’T KNOW IF GOVERNMENT IS WELL AWARE OF THIS.EMPLOY OTHER COMPANIES SO THAT THERE CAN BE MORE ELECTRICITY COMPANIES WHICH CAN EFFECTIVELY COMPETE IN GIVING BETTER SERVICES TO ITS CITIZENS.I PLEAD WITH GOVT.TO CRITICALLY LOOK INTO THIS.BECAUSE CRUEL ESCOM IS A LONE,SO IT IS POMPUS,IT DELAYS IN HELPING PEOPLE & IT DOES NOT CARE.IT RENDERS ITS BETTER SERVICES TO ONLY THOSE WHO HAVE CORRUPTED THEM BY GIVING LARGE SUMS OF MONEY. I DON’T KNOW IF THEIR BOSSES DO GO ON THE GROUND TO CHECK IF THE WORK IS DONE RIGHTLY & TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE.CRUEL ESCOM,HAS TOTALLY FAILED.Thousands of houses are just ROTTING without being connected becoz they don’t BRIBE OR CORRUPT THEM.Mu Chikampani ichi CHILUNGAMO MULIBE.So if Investors are scared & opts for our neighbours like Zambia,Zimbabwe or TZ,THEN WE WILL NEVER EVER DEVELOP.Becoz this PROBLEM STARTS FROM THE BOTTOM,IE; INDIVIDUAL HOUSES.’IF A DOG FAILS TO CATCH A BABY DEER,CAN IT CATCH ITS MOTHER? CERTAINLY NOO!
Can Rural Electrification be fulfilled with this CONTINOUS POWER OUTAGES? Iam SCARED TOO.DON’T BE JEALOUS CRUEL ESCOM IF OTHER COMPANIES ARE COMING TO INVEST IN THE SAME FIELD.We heard rumours sometime back that another company wanted to invest in the same field but CRUEL ESCOM REJECTED & LIED THAT THEY RENDER BETTER SERVICES TO MALAWIANS,WHICH WAS & IS NO TRUE.LEARN FROM OUR NEIGHBOURS.HARRISON KALUWA HAS ALREADY SAID IT THAT INVESTORS ARE SHUNNING MALAWI & GO TO OTHER COUNTRIES BECOZ OF POWER OUTAGES ALMOST EVERY DAY.YOUR MOTTO MUST BE: ‘INTERMITTENT POWER SUPPLY’.GOVERNMENT WAKE UP & WALK THE TALK.ANOTHER MAJOR PROBLEM WITH MALAWI IS DESK WORK & TALKING ONLY,NOT REAL ACTIONS.ON PAPER,EXCELLENT PLAN,BUT IMPLEMENTATION ZERO.THIS STARTS FROM ABOVE UP TO THE ROOTS.TIYENI TIKONDE DZIKO LATHU.ZIPHUPHU SIZITIPINDULIRA.TISAOPE MUNTHU KOMA MULUNGU.TITATERO,ZIPHUPHU SITINGACHITE NGATI TIKUWOPA MULUNGU. A BOMA PEZANI MAKAMPANI ENA OSATI ESIKOMU YOKHA YOZIKONDAYI AYI.TIMVERENI CHOONDEE!NDIKUYANKHULANE PANO NDILI PA GRASS ROOT,NDIKUONA MABVUTO ONSE OMWE ESCOM IMATICHITIRA MOPANDA CONCERN.Government MUST DO SOMETHING TO STOP INVESTORS FROM GOING OUTSIDE DUE TO FAILURE OF ESCOM.INVEST MUCH IN POWER SUPPLY BY ENGAGING OTHER COMPANIES NOT ONLY ESCOM.IF THERE CAN BE TWO OR THREE COMPANIES DOING THE SAME JOB,THEN BETTER SERVICES CAN BE RENDRED BECAUSE THERE WILL BE COMPETITION.WOLILIRA MALAWI.