By Eddison Mombera MBA (Oil, Gas and Energy Management)
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Eskom’s latest performance marks one of the most significant South African stateowned enterprise recoveries in recent years.
For the financial year ending March 2025, the South African power utility posted a R16 billion profit, reversing a R55 billion loss recorded just a year earlier.
Operationally, the shift has been even more dramatic: loadshedding days fell from over 300 days in 2022/23 to just 13 days in 2024/25, with the utility achieving more than 150 consecutive days without loadshedding, a milestone that would have been unthinkable two years ago.
These results did not come from a single intervention. Government debt relief of R254 billion, tariff adjustments averaging 12%, and improved revenue collection provided financial breathing room.
But the real transformation came from operational discipline: reduced reliance on dieselpowered Open Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs), improved plant performance, and a renewed focus on maintenance. Diesel expenditure alone dropped by over R16 billion, thanks to improved Energy Availability Factor (EAF), which rose from 55% to 67% within a year.
Eskom’s leadership also strengthened governance, closing 90% of external audit findings from previous years and tightening controls around procurement, plant operations, and financial management.
Municipal debt remains a major challenge now exceeding R78 billion and accounting for 42% of Eskom’s total sales but the turnaround has shown that even deep structural problems can be managed when governance and operational discipline align.
For those of us who have led institutional reforms in Malawi, this trajectory is familiar.
During my tenure as Chairman of the Central Region Water Board (CRWB), we faced our own version of systemic decline.
Operational inefficiencies, revenue leakages, customer dissatisfaction, and political pressures that often complicated decisionmaking.
The turnaround began when we prioritised governance reform.
We strengthened oversight structures, enforced financial controls, and aligned management decisions with strategic objectives.
Once governance stabilised, we lead strategic planning and ensured that operational teams were empowered to improve service reliability, expand infrastructure, and rebuild customer trust.
Just as Eskom’s improved performance has restored public confidence, CRWB’s reforms led to measurable improvements in customer satisfaction and revenue collection.
The principle is universal: customers are more willing to pay and support reforms when they see reliability, transparency, and professionalism.
Another shared lesson is the role of politics. Eskom’s progress accelerated when political actors provided space for professionals to work, focusing on policy direction rather than operational interference.
At CRWB, the biggest gains came when politics acted as an enabler supporting reforms, unlocking resources, and allowing the institution to operate with discipline and predictability.
The broader message for Malawi’s energy sector is clear: our SOEs can perform.
They can be financially viable, operationally reliable, and publicly trusted. But this requires a commitment to the same principles that drove Eskom’s recovery and CRWB’s transformation: strong governance and disciplined oversight, empowered technical leadership,
customercentric service delivery, and political support that enables rather than obstructs.
If Eskom can rise from ashes (years of crisis) to deliver a R16 billion profit and nearelimination of loadshedding, then ESCOM and other Malawian SOEs can do the same provided we embrace the governance and leadership standards that successful turnarounds demand.
The path is clear. What remains is the collective will to walk the talk.