Energy Minister keeps the cause of intermittent blackouts under wraps

By Antony Isaiah Jr

The Minister of Energy Ibrahim Matola has kept under wraps his findings on the cause of intermittent blackouts in the country.

Presently, Malawians are suffering from persistent blackouts and the President of the Republic, Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera assigned the minister to hold the meeting with power sectors to establish the cause of the problem.

Chakwera announced it on Monday through his Facebook page saying he was occupied by other matters of national interests.

I am in office today, attending to various matters of national interest.

“I have deployed the Minister of Energy to hold meetings with the Heads of ESCOM and EGENCO to get to the bottom of the cause of the system shutdown that resulted in a nationwide blackout over the weekend, as well as to track the progress being made on rehabilitating the cyclone-damaged Kapichira Power Plant,” said Chakwera on Facebook.

The minister had a meeting with Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) and Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) on Monday and after a three-hour meeting with Officials from the power sector, Matola kept the lid tight to inform the general public through the media on what transpired in the meetings.

“I have established the cause of the intermittent power cuts after meetings with the two companies. The rule of the natural justice is to hear from both parties and I have captured a lot from the two parties involved.

“However, I cannot spill the beans right now. I have to report to the President to get direction on how best to handle the case,” said Matola.

He also failed to open the lid to the public on the possible solution and outcomes from the meetings, on the progress of Kapichira Hydro-power Station restoration and when the power outages would come to an end.

“We will try our best to resolve this issue maybe by Wednesday, but as of today, we have jest established the root of the cause,” added Matola.