Former MP and PP spokesperson Ackson Kalaile Banda rejects sabotage claims, arguing that policy failures and the re-introduction of Power Market Limited are at the heart of Malawi’s electricity crisis.

NEWS | Energy | Politics | By Watipaso Mzungu

Former Member of Parliament and People’s Party (PP) spokesperson Ackson Kalaile Banda has blamed the re-introduction of Power Market Limited (PML) for Malawi’s persistent electricity blackouts, describing the entity as the root cause of the crisis.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Banda rejected suggestions that the blackouts were the result of sabotage, instead pointing to policy decisions and leadership failures in the energy sector.

“I have observed attempts by some quarters to compare the current persistent blackouts with the situation just a year ago, when such blackouts were largely absent. Some have even suggested sabotage. In my view, this is not sabotage. It is fundamentally a matter of policy decisions and leadership,” he said.

Banda was commenting against the backdrop of Speaker of Parliament Sameer Suleman’s recent announcement of an investigation into the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM), Electricity Generation Company (EGENCO) and PML.

He also provided a brief history of Malawi’s electricity market structure, arguing that the sector performed better when generation and distribution were managed under a more integrated arrangement.

Banda blames PML for Malawi’s persistent blackouts MediaGov — ***Ackson Kalaile Banda***

“Before, we had one integrated power company, ESCOM, managing about 360MW. It worked. The creation of EGENCO as a separate generation company was met with resistance,” he said.

Banda said the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration subsequently introduced PML, giving it responsibility for buying and managing power generated by EGENCO and ESCOM before selling it to the market.

“This too was met with strong resistance from the two generation entities, and it is still a big problem,” he said.

According to Banda, the situation improved after the Tonse Alliance administration took office and removed PML from the arrangement.

“With that, the two generation companies cooperated and power generation improved and stabilized,” he said.

He argued that the decision to re-introduce PML under the current arrangement “appears to be the root cause of the problems we are experiencing today”.

Banda, who previously served on Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, also questioned the continued creation of new entities in the energy sector, including the leasing of gensets to supplement electricity generation.

“In my view, [this is] less about improving power supply and more about serving the interests of a few individuals,” he said.

“Malawi has the resources to power this nation. What we lack is the will to put national interest above personal interests,” he added.

Banda called for decisive leadership that puts the national interest ahead of partisan politics, while offering a blunt prescription for ending the blackouts.

“The position is simple: As long as PML remains the middle-man managing resources for the two generating institutions, we should forget about ending these blackouts. The blackouts are a systemic response. Remove PML and we can have power. Maintain PML and we will continue to have persistent blackouts,” he said.

His statement comes as ESCOM confirmed on Tuesday that the country had experienced a nationwide blackout that began at 10:45pm, following a system shutdown whose cause was still being investigated.

The persistent outages have triggered growing concern among businesses and households, with consumers complaining that unreliable electricity is disrupting economic activity, livelihoods and daily life.

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Incompetence image by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free

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