The Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining Bright Msaka has urged the media to report carefully on the implementation of the $350 million energy project by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) aimed at revitalising Malawi’s energy sector.
Msaka made the call in Lilongwe on Friday when he addressed editors from various media houses in the country during a cocktail hosted by the Millennium Challenge Malawi (MCA-Malawi).
“What you write influences the decision of investors and I personally do not meet these investors on a daily basis but they read your stories. Hence, you must make sure that this investment by MCC is not in vain,” he said.
Msaka, while describing his interaction with the editors as ‘a rewarding experience’, said it was imperative for the media to appreciate the on-going efforts by MCA-Malawi through the implementation of the Compact Programme.
He said the programme, which entered into force in 2013 and is due to close in September next year, has already started bearing fruits.
According to Msaka, although there is no country in sub-Saharan Africa which has adequate power supply, that in itself should not be seen as an impossibility for Malawi to generate more power.
“Power is difficult to make, but difficulty is not synonymous to impossibility. In two to three years time, we will add more power to the national grid,” he said.
He added that the government unbundled the power utility company, Escom, to create another company called Electricity Generation Company because it wanted to liberate the power sector to allow more independent power producers to generate electricity.
On his part, Malawi Editors Forum Secretary General Gracian Tukula hailed MCA-Malawi for bringing together editors to appreciate the Compact Programme and assured that the project’s fruits would be spread out effectively in the form of news in various media channels.
One of the editors, Wycliffe Njiragoma of Ufulu FM Radio, described the meeting as an eye-opener, saying he now appreciates the huge investments MCC is pumping into the power sector that would see a turnaround of the sector in the near future.
During the event, MCA-Malawi Chief Executive Officer Dye Mawindo disclosed that the project has so far disbursed 45 percent of the total resource envelope but remained optimistic that the entire funding would be effectively utilised by September 2018.
The MCC compact is a single-sector programme designed to contribute to Malawi’s efforts in reducing poverty through sustainable economic growth.
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