ESCOM suspends new connections

BY WATIPASO MZUNGU JNR
Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) has temporarily suspended connections to its new customers because the country’s sole power generator does not have materials, The Sunday Times can reveal.

The revelation comes after South West Education Division (Swed) manageress, Sr. Eunice Dambo, had earlier complained to the Deputy Minister of Education Wictor Songazaudzu Sajeni that despite Escom pocketing full payments over six months ago, the corporation is failing to connect Chifunga and Ligowe CDSSes in Neno.

Dambo asked Sajeni to intervene saying an extended delay to connect the schools would have a negative impact on the learners’ studies.

“We paid everything, but because of the reasons best know to Escom, they are not installing electricity at these schools. We would like to ask you to intervene; we want learners to be studying in electricity,” she implored.

Escom public relations officer, Kitty Chingota, confirmed to have received payment for connecting Chifunga and Ligowe and that they have failed to provide the service on time.

Chingota further revealed that the two schools are just a dot in a pool of clients on the waiting list. She further hinted that the applicants will have to wait a little longer because the corporation does not know when the materials will arrive from wherever they are ordering the materials.

“We don’t have materials in stock at the moment. As soon as we get the materials, we’ll certainly connect them,” she explained.

“The two schools are just some of the clients who have paid in full, but we can’t connect them because of the same reason. There are several others on the waiting list,” said Chingota.

Asked when the materials would be in, the ESCOM publicist could not commit herself to providing a date saying she also does not know the exact date when they [materials] will arrive.

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