{"id":77508,"date":"2026-04-25T20:24:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T20:24:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/power-crisis-fuels-political-blame-in-malawi"},"modified":"2026-04-25T20:33:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T20:33:30","slug":"power-crisis-fuels-political-blame-in-malawi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/power-crisis-fuels-political-blame-in-malawi","title":{"rendered":"Power Crisis Fuels Political Blame in Malawi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. <\/strong><\/span>The ongoing nationwide power blackouts have ignited a blame game within government, with the current administration shifting responsibility to the previous Malawi Congress Party (MCP)-led government\u2014despite technical officials pointing to a completely different cause: crippling forex shortages.<\/b><\/p>\n

While politicians trade accusations, insiders at Electricity Generation Company (Malawi) (EGENCO) say the real issue is painfully simple\u2014there is no money to keep the machines running.<\/p>\n

According to EGENCO officials, the state-run power producer is failing to import critical spare parts needed to repair key hydropower stations due to acute foreign exchange scarcity, a situation that continues to choke electricity generation.<\/p>\n

But Minister of Energy and Mining, Jean Mathanga, chose a different narrative\u2014launching a direct attack on the previous administration.<\/p>\n

Speaking at a press briefing in Blantyre, Mathanga blamed the current crisis on what she described as the MCP government\u2019s failure to maintain vital electricity infrastructure during its time in power.<\/p>\n

She argued that aging and poorly serviced equipment at both Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) and EGENCO is now collapsing under pressure, triggering repeated breakdowns.<\/p>\n

Mathanga went further, raising the spectre of theft and even possible sabotage, warning that such acts would not be tolerated under the current administration.<\/p>\n

Yet her remarks stand in stark contrast to EGENCO\u2019s own admission earlier this week.<\/p>\n

In a statement issued on Tuesday, EGENCO attributed the latest wave of blackouts to delays in repairing a fault at the Nkula B hydropower station\u2014delays directly linked to forex shortages.<\/p>\n

The company revealed that a 20-megawatt unit has broken down and will remain offline for at least a month while spare parts are sourced from South Africa.<\/p>\n

EGENCO also pointed to fuel shortages and forex constraints as major obstacles affecting diesel-powered backup generators in Kanengo and Luwinga\u2014facilities meant to cushion the country when hydropower output drops.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) has rolled out an eight-month recovery plan aimed at stabilising the fragile national grid.<\/p>\n

The plan includes a nationwide network assessment, preventive maintenance, and accelerated response to faults that have long frustrated consumers.<\/p>\n

ESCOM is also banking on long-term solutions such as the Mozambique\u2013Malawi (MOMA) Interconnector Project and the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Kanengo, Lilongwe\u2014projects expected to ease supply pressure and improve grid stability.<\/p>\n

However, the utility has quietly admitted that even basic pre-rainy season maintenance was derailed this year by procurement bottlenecks\u2014raising serious questions about planning, preparedness, and governance.<\/p>\n

As blackouts persist, Malawians are left in the dark\u2014literally and politically\u2014caught between official explanations that do not align, and a power system that continues to falter under the weight of deeper economic and structural failures.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Malawi<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. The ongoing nationwide power blackouts have ignited a blame game within government, with the current administration shifting responsibility to the previous Malawi Congress Party (MCP)-led government\u2014despite technical officials pointing to a completely different cause: crippling forex shortages. While politicians trade accusations, insiders at Electricity Generation Company (Malawi) (EGENCO) say the real issue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":77507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-77508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-malawi"],"yoast_head":"\nPower Crisis Fuels Political Blame in Malawi - Malawi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The ongoing nationwide power blackouts have ignited a blame game within government, with the current administration s ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/power-crisis-fuels-political-blame-in-malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Power Crisis Fuels Political Blame in Malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The ongoing nationwide power blackouts have ignited a blame game within government, with the current administration s ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/power-crisis-fuels-political-blame-in-malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-25T20:24:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-25T20:33:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2026\/04\/sm_1777149164.463128.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"605\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/power-crisis-fuels-political-blame-in-malawi#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/power-crisis-fuels-political-blame-in-malawi\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Power Crisis Fuels Political Blame in Malawi\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-25T20:24:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-25T20:33:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/power-crisis-fuels-political-blame-in-malawi\"},\"wordCount\":464,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/power-crisis-fuels-political-blame-in-malawi#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2026\/04\/sm_1777149164.463128.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Malawi\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/power-crisis-fuels-political-blame-in-malawi#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/power-crisis-fuels-political-blame-in-malawi\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/power-crisis-fuels-political-blame-in-malawi\",\"name\":\"Power Crisis Fuels Political Blame in Malawi - 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