Vandalism costs Escom K4bn in 2 years

Vandalism of electricity infrastructure has cost Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) about K4 billion in the last two years, it has emerged.

The acts of vandalism have been disrupting power transmission, affecting provision of services in hospitals and other key productive sectors.

In a written response to The Nation questionnaire, Escom public relations manager Kitty Chingota said last year alone they had 200 incidents of vandalism.

She said the theft involved removal of earth wires, stay wires, transformers and insulation disks.

She said: “We have registered over 200 incidents of vandalism in the last 12 months across the country and in the past two years, we have lost over K4 billion due to vandalism of our infrastructure.

“This figure includes transmission and distribution infrastructure replacement costs and revenue lost.”

To deal with the vice, Chingota said they are implementing anti-vandal designs on Escom infrastructure.

But she stressed that this arrangement only works where the public is willing to take ownership of Escom assets.

Further, Chingota said Escom will continue to invest in its security team to monitor and safeguard the assets, besides partnering local businesses, non-governmental organisations and community leaders to create a united front against vandalism.

In an interview, former Escom chief executive officer Kandi Padambo said vandalism remains a huge challenge for the utility firm.

He said it was not easy to deal with the vice as some of the people involved in the malpractice may have some knowledge of Escom infrastructure.

Padambo, therefore, suggested the need for punitive penalties for those apprehended for vandalising the infrastructure, noting that some punishments in the courts are too lenient.

To curb vandalism of public infrastructure, the Ministry of Trade and Industry on May 27 2023 announced the suspension of scrap metal exports, invoking import and export licence regulations of 2020.

But High Court of Malawi Judge Howard Pemba granted members of Second Hand Scrap Metal Dealers Association an injunction against the ban. However, the government got a lifeline when in August 2023 the injunction was stayed.