“When blackouts become good governance issue”

Friday, October 27 2017. As early as 08:30am, Members of Parliament (MP) from Zomba District trek to the council’s chamber, angry that they see no end in sight the problem of power outages. Less than 100 kilometres away, the Shire River— the source of water for the country’s utility power supplier, the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) — flows freely. The river, through its water, which it taps from Lake Malawi, powers the turbines at Tedzani, Nkula A and Nkula B hydro-electric power stations on the Shire. 

The power generated lights homes. Of course, it is less than 20 percent of the population that taps from that power. 

Of course, there are other hydro-electric power stations, notably Wovwe, that do not depend on the Shire River. The common denominator is that even Wovwe runs on water; free, natural water that Mother Malawi treats us with all year round.