Two months ago we reported that people of Mpokonyola Village, Traditional Authority Katunga in Chikwawa, had folded up their electricity-reliant businesses due to absence of power.
The problem, which has been lingering for about seven months, has finally been solved.
A faulty transformer made it impossible for the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) to distribute electricity to the area.
When we visited the location in June this year, everything seemed so ancient and retrogressive.
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The absence of electricity was palpable. Escom officials said they had ordered transformers but the Covid pandemic had affected their delivery.
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Now, the place has been fixed with a transformer, ending a seven-month period of darkness.
“We thought we would clock a year without electricity. It was a difficult situation for an area that had electricity all the while to drift back into a status of no power.
“Already, a full day without electricity is too much time. Many things rely on electricity these days,” Group Village Head Mpokonyola said.
He added that during the seven months of no electricity, life became so dull and the economic situation of people got worse.
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A youth from the area, who moved his barbershop business to a nearby village, said he did not hesitate to return to his area after the electricity problem had been fixed because there he has loyal customers.
“Sometimes, business is about loyalty. When you move elsewhere, not everyone follows you. I am happy that electricity is back and we can pick up our lives where we left,” he said.
Limited Chapalapata, a fourth-year student at Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, who comes from the area, said he was happy to have helped bring about change to his village.
He was among people who had notified us about how the community was struggling in the absence of electricity.
“Since November last year, life was so dull here. Without electricity, entertainment itself was far-fetched,” Chapalapata said.
Last year, Escom disclosed that it was losing an average of five transformers every month and that replacing them was costly.
While the transformer at Mpokonyola Village reportedly developed a “normal” fault in the course of its work, the majority of the faults are said to be due to vandalism.
