President Lazarus Chakwera has bemoaned bureaucratic tendencies in some government agencies and departments, saying it is costing the government a great deal by derailing investments in the energy sector.
Chakwera said this in Salima during the commissioning of the JCM 60 megawatts solar power plant on Tuesday.
He said Malawi could not afford to have governance systems that take eight years for such projects as the solar power plant to move from conception to completion.
Chakwera added that more needed to be done to make the administrative processes seamless, faster and responsive to investors.
“The Independent Power Producers Framework that is already in use is helping with these matters, but it will be undergoing a much needed review to strengthen the enabling environment for various actors in this sector,” Chakwera said.
He went on to direct the Principal Secretary for Energy and the Director of Energy to present a report to his office on every Independent Power Producer (IPP) which has been seeking to invest in Malawi for the past two years and progress on the same.
In an interview, energy expert Edgar Bayani said, on top of the solutions, the government should change the way it solicits IPPs adding that some come into the country without resources and start sourcing resources when they get a nod to invest.
“We should minimise unsolicited proposals and stick to solicited proposals because that will invite people who have enough resources to invest in the energy sector,” Bayani said.
Malawi approved eight IPPs but the then minister of Energy Newton Kambala said only two had implemented their projects.
Source: The Daily Times_Thursday, November 18, 2021_by Justin Mkweu