Malawi energy rubble rages politics

As the country continues facing persistent power blackouts, it has been established that management at Power Marketing Limited (PML), one of the companies established to ensure effective power supply, could be at the centre of what is suspected to be political sabotage against the current Tonse Alliance Administration.

Investigations have revealed that PML, established by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) along with Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) following the unbundling of Electricity Supply Company of Malawi (Escom) is being managed by DPP operatives who hold positions from the most top management level and have been at the centre of frustrating investments in the power sector.

Rosemary Mkandawire, alleged to be DPP operative and one time party candidate for a parliamentary seat in Mzimba, is the Chief Executive Officer while other political cadres from the former ruling party hold other senior positions.

We have established that one investor from Denmark who was interested to commit millions of dollars into wind driven electricity project and gas production had to pull out after being frustrated by Mkandawire.

One of the representatives of the Denmark investor, Dan Chibwana, a Malawian based in South Africa disclosed that he personally visited Mkandawire’s office in February 2020 but all he got were unnecessary demands, which even surprised the investor.

“In the end the investor was completely frustrated and disappointed. What the investor expected was to be given guidelines, but he was made to travel to Mzimba and back more than four times to get a letter from a Chief, then he was asked to go again and get a map for the area and sent again to get coordinates and again to get approval from Mzimba DC,” said Chibwana.

Apart from Mkandawire, PML is full of known DPP cadres such as Muchana Mpuluka, Vilant Ndasowa, Sam Madula and Dadi Sinthambi and these are the ones calling the shots at PML, an organisation which has conspicuously been silent as the country faces non-stop blackouts despite its crucial role in the electricity supply equation.

PML was established and incorporated in June 2028 and rolled out its activities in January 2020 as an independent entity responsible for buying and selling of electricity. Its main function is to facilitate investment in power generation.

Ironically, all the top position were filled without advertising or the current occupants of those positions going through interviews.

“These people just got letters of appointment from then Chief Secretary to the Government Lloyd Muhara. For Rosemary Munthali, she was given the job after she failed in the 2019 Parliamentary elections when she came third after being beaten by an Afrord candidate Yeremia Chihana who won the seat while Cathrine Mzumara of UTM came second,” said one of the sources.

Rosemary Thumboyauka Mkandawire is a former Toyota Malawi CEO. In 2014 She was sucked when the scandal of MDF/Toyota cashgate came out and then later joined politics to stand on DPP ticket in Mzimba North. In October 2018 , she contested against Bruce Munthali for DPP primaries and she defeated the former CEO of Tobacco Control before herself being defeated in the May 21, 2019 elections.

On the other hand, Muchana Mpuluka is the Director of HR and Administration and is the former CEO of Mlakho wa Lhomwe but with with no background of working in any office apart from running personal businesses. Muchana Mpuluka’s is also appearing on the list of people who were drawing Escom Fuel close to 1000 litres per day the time he was Mlakho wa Lhome CEO.

Ndasowa, who is also one of the Directors at PML, is a known DPP cadet and Mlakho wa Lhomwe executive member and chairs the Fund Raising Committee. Our investigations reveal that Ndasowa has never worked before apart from running her own briefcase businesses. While MADULA, a former PS at Immigration, is a well known DPP sympathiser who, along form Home Affairs Minister Nicholas Dausi, is currently answering corruption charges for mis-procurement at Immigration.

Lastly, Sinthambi is a known DPP cadet who was formerly a legal officer at Escom before he was moved to Egenco in the same capacity and then was moved dubiously to PML as Director of Legal Affairs and Company Secretary, a career movement that has raised questions.

Following the persistent blackouts which worsened a week ago, energy expert and former Minister Grain Malunga and former Vice President Khumbo Kachali said that the situation could be part of a grand scheme of political sabotage against the current administration.

“I really suspect that this is internal sabotage,” said Malunga who accompanied Minister of Energy Ibrahim Matola who Monday morning engaged Egenco and Escom in a bid to get to the bottom of the blackouts.

Kachali writing on his Facebook page said: “It is now clear that apart from technical challenges to power generation and distribution there are some people who do not wish the Tonse Alliance administration well and are deliberately sabotaging the system. These people should be traced and when found they should be chased and should never be anywhere closer to Escom systems. Let us for once be serious with clearing the rubble.”

During the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), most public institutions employed political party operatives who most of them have remained in the system despite the Tonse Alliance administration being warned to get rid of them.

Matola has also not ruled out sabotage in the whole situation.