9 Months Blackout Calls For Vigils At Mzuzu ESCOM
Frustrated communities of Ekwaiweni in Mzimba North-East Constituency have resorted to hold vigils at the Mzuzu ESCOM offices if the power utility body (ESCOM) will not reconnect power to their area within the next seven (7) days.
The decision to hold the vigils comes after ESCOM removed transformers in Ekwaiweni about nine (9) months ago which resulted into the disruption of essential services in the area badly affecting about 5300 people.
Speaking to Malawi Daily Telegraph, some community members lamented eight months to be just too much for ESCOM to continue playing a hide and seek games to the community.
A 70 year old, Chrissie Kumwenda said life has now become more unbearable for most villagers considering that for one to access 20 kilograms of maize flour he/she has to part ways with K15 000.00 as travel costs to Dunduzu or Ekwendeni are more costly for ordinary villagers.
Echoing with Kumwenda’s sentiment is a village champion, Elliud Honde expressed disagreements with the recent demand made by ESCOM officials who advised the community members to pay K4 million for the maintenance of a 3, 300kw transformer that broke down.
“We cannot just stand aside and look at ESCOM continuing protracting all sorts of lies one after another the community that has suffered for the past nine months.
“Imagine, women travel almost twenty (20) kilometers to get to the maize mill, the kids, expectant women and the elderly travel to Ekwendeni or Mzuzu to access medical assistance since the health center in the area can no longer keep some essential drugs that needs to be refrigerated at all times,” Honde said.
The visibly angry Honde also revealed that the ESCOM management advised the communities in the area to shift the responsibility of paying the said K4 million to the Parliamentarian for the area, Catherine Gotani Hara who is also happens to be the Speaker of Parliament.
In a separate interview with Tafika Youth Organisation’s Executive Director, Shupo Kumwenda, he sympathized with learners who sat for the standard 8, Junior Certificate, and Malawi Schools Certificate of Education examinations whom he said could not study at night due to ESCOM’s condemnation of Ekwaiweni.
In a separate interview, Parliamentarian for the area, Catherine Gotani Hara could not hide her frustration and disappointment with ESCOM officials inflicting pain on innocent people with their continued economic sabotage.
“We have been approaching ESCOM on many occasions, their response has been that they only have transformers which are 11000 kilowatts (Kw) while Ekwaiweni needs a 33000kw transformer and that once they get supplies of this type they will assist us,” Hara said
ESCOM’s Regional Manager for the north, George Matukuta quickly referred Malawi Daily Telegraph to the power utility body’s spokesperson, Kitty Chingota who surprisingly demanded a questionnaire on an eight months outstanding blackout issue.
However, two private engineers who chose to speak on strict condition of anonymity argued that the ESCOM engineering team would have provided a temporary remedy to the problem unlike putting its customers in darkness for more than nine months.
