By Draxon Maloya
MZUZU-(MaraviPost)-The Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) Mzuzu office was left stunned when officials from the Foundation for Children’s Rights invaded its premises, demanding working space after weeks of power disconnection at their office.
Jennifer Mkandawire, speaking on behalf of the organization, accused ESCOM of “gross negligence” for failing to reinstall electricity for three weeks, a delay she said has crippled operations and caused massive financial losses.
“We have been reporting about the electricity fault at our office premises, but ESCOM officials have been telling us all sorts of lies. Today we decided to move our equipment to their business complex until the problem is fully rectified. We can no longer budge to their negligence anymore,” Mkandawire declared.
The visibly frustrated officials carried banners and heavy office equipment into ESCOM’s premises, insisting they would only vacate once power was restored.
Mkandawire revealed that the organization had already lost US$50,000 in partner funding due to the blackout, arguing that ESCOM was failing to meet the needs and aspirations of Malawians.
One senior ESCOM official in the northern region, speaking anonymously, admitted that administrative challenges had hampered service delivery.
“It is very sad that such problems persist despite earlier transportation challenges being resolved at top management level,” he conceded.
Another female ESCOM official, also on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the utility had reluctantly allowed the children’s rights body to use one of its offices to meet urgent deadlines with international partners.
“Our Regional Manager is out of duty station attending meetings in Blantyre and will probably be back on Friday,” she explained.
The drama reached its climax when it was revealed that ESCOM’s own backup power supply during the Wednesday’s regional blackout was being provided by Telekom Limited Malawi, which stepped in as a “good Samaritan” after a fault on the Salima–Nkhatabay 132kv overhead line cut off the national grid.
Investigations further uncovered that some ESCOM staff in Mzuzu are currently on strike, demoralized by internal reforms that have left the power utility struggling to serve its clients.
