Africa > East Africa > Malawi > Ibrahim Matola, Malawian Minister of Energy,

Malawi: Ibrahim Matola, Malawian Minister of Energy,

2013/08/08

Energy is key to the economic increase of any country, inclunding to improve the business climate. Malawi currently faces challenges regarding energy security, and as the people grows, request is as well growing. This not taking into account all the mining companies that are going to commence operations very any minute at this time. How is your Ministry dealing with this challenge to provide energy security to the country?

We have a deficit. The energy we are getting at the moment from the hydropower stations in the country is about 287 MW, and the request is about 350 MW. So we have a deficit. That is why at the same time as Her Excellency took power, she emphasised that we should have other alternative sources of energy, in order for us to accommodate other investors, such as those in the mining industry. As of presently, there are some mining companies that are using 1 million litres of gasoline per month. If there was enough power, these investors, or these mining activities would be taking place.

However, our master plan states that each five years there should be a new hydropower plant. But unfortunately, it has been additional than 13 years without a new power plant. Her Excellency Dr. Joyce Banda will commission phase II of the Kapichira hydropower plant in August. This will generate about 32 MW. In December, it will generate a further 32 MW. In total, the Kapichira hydropower plant phase II will give us about 64 MW, which will give us a large boost in the energy sector in Malawi.

I would as well like to thank Her Excellency for coming in with her good leadership skills in terms of international cooperation. We had an interconnector project between Malawi and Mozambique, which stalled because of a misunderstanding between the two nations. So we have just signed a MoU (memorandum of considerate) with our counterpart, Mozambique. The president of Mozambique visited our country in April. We concluded that transaction, and we will have the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP), which will be interconnected with Mozambique. The Mozambique side will tap the power up to Matambo from Cahora-Bassa, which is about 200 km into the Malawian side, and again there will be the phase II to Port Nacala, which is about 800 km.

This means that Malawi will be exporting power, importing from Mozambique and exporting it back to Mozambique. Very any minute at this time Malawi will be the power exporter to the neighbouring nations. These are the vision and the leadership skills of Dr Joyce Banda with the neighbouring nations. At the same time as she assumed power, she tried to mend the fences between the two nations, and things are moving in a good direction. We hope that very any minute at this time blackouts will be a thing of the completed, where people had to remain for three or four days without power. We are really looking forward to it.

We have as well signed a MoU for a project with the Australian company Intra Energy, they are going build a coal-fired plant in Salima that will be producing about 300 MW. These 300 MW will be split into five phases. There will as well be a coal fire plant close to Blantyre, in the area of Balaka. We will start with 300 MW. We are trying as a government to unbundle ESCOM, being the transmitter, distributor and the generator. We are trying to get the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to feed into our national grid. An American investor would want to use biomass as well.

Very any minute at this time we will have additional power, which we can export to other nations, whether it is solar or others. The Japanese are constructing solar panels at the Kamuzu International Airport. The airport on its own will have power from solar, and again that power will be channelled to other energy users.

The Chinese are as well building street lights, so for the initial time in history, we will have street lights powered by solar energy. We will be serving power here and there. There was as well an extra project, which was supported by DFID, using energy saving bulbs. Malawi has saved almost 15 to 20 MW by distributing 3 million energy saving bulbs to the Malawians. ESCOM and the Ministry are as well making sure that the energy saving bulbs are subsidised and available locally, to ensure that we achieve our intended goal of saving a certain all of voltage or MW from our national grid.

Climate change has affected Malawi strongly, and there is a push for green energies. What other plans do you have regarding these energies?

We are still experiencing some issues, because we are still completing some feasibility studies for the geothermal side. The funding has been received from the World Bank and it is taking place. We hope that investors can come in with their financial instruments next the feasibility studies have been completed. Some rivers have as well been identified, which are as well funded by the World Bank, so that we can add different amounts of hydropower to different rivers, such as the Shire River.

We are as well looking at the existing dams. We have dams here in Lilongwe where water is just flowing. But we need to look into it. We may be getting 4 to 7 MW, which can be used locally. Again there is an extra dam in Zomba, where we can complete a feasibility study and see where we can put a mini hydro system in and generate up to 10 MW. We can get additional power there because it is by presently up the mountain, and the water is just flowing into the dam. We can utilize that water to generate power.

There are as well other dams in Mulanje, where they are as well mining bauxite. These are the areas we can look at and make opportunities available to investors, so that they can invest in these hydropower plants.

Going back to your question about clean energy, it is very significant. Climate change has really affected us and it is really affecting us. The siltation and low levels of water in the Shire River (most of our hydro plants are located in the Shire River) are an issue. As a result, we need to look at other sources of clean energy. These feasibility studies are taking place. There is funding taking place from the World Bank and the African Development Bank and the European Investment Bank, where we have as well submitted some requests to look into these issues so that we can move together with the world in terms of green energy.

What impact could oil exploitation in Lake Malawi have on the socioeconomic development of the country?

Geo-mapping will commence very any minute at this time. We do not know the exact deposits available for oil, coal or any other mineral, but the data obtained from the geological survey from the Department of Mines and the geo-mapping will really assist investors and even ourselves as the Department and the Ministries to know exactly where these deposits are and how much we have in terms of oil, uranium and other minerals. The World Bank is funding these activities, and very any minute at this time, the Ministry of Mines will be obtaining data for investors, so that they do not keep digging here and there.

What message can you send to our high profile readers, regarding the investment potential of Malawi’s energy sector, in order to encourage them to invest in it?

There is potential in the energy sector and in the untapped resources, and we are looking forward to a lot of investors coming. There will be regional projects in the Southern African Power Pool, and if we are connected, Malawi will switch off most of its power plants around 9 pm, because during the night, there are very few users. There are very few companies that work all night. So during the off peak time, we can export power to our neighbouring nations, like Zambia and Tanzania. Once we are connected, again Tanzania will as well benefit, inclunding Congo. The whole region will benefit. We are at the lowest in southern African in terms of regional blocks of power. We still have a power deficit, so we would like additional investors approaching and look into the energy sector, and see how they can get involved in investment opportunities in the energy sector. Malawi wants to be a power exporter into the region.

What legacy would you like to leave behind once you leave office?

I would like to follow the advice of Her Excellency Dr Joyce Banda, and her vision for this country. Malawi should be a conducive environment for investors approaching in at the moment; no investor would want approaching to Malawi, because of the blackouts. As well, we sometimes have blackouts that last two to three days. I would like to see myself as having followed her vision and her aspirations, and her instructions and advice as to how the Ministry of Energy should perform in terms of making the country a better Malawi, and conducive for investors, by supplying them with adequate and reliable power.

SWIFTRef a financial institution or corporate

Related Articles

Africa's Relationship With China Is Ancient History
2017/07/02 In 2002 South Africa's Parliament unveiled a digital reproduction of a map - of China, the Middle East and Africa - that some speculated could be the initial map of the African continent. The Da Ming Hun Yi Tu - the Comprehensive Map of the Great Ming Empire - was drawn up around 1389 during the Ming Dynasty, according to historian Hyunhee Park.
Africa: Making Things Happen at the Bank - 'Not a Talk Shop' - Akin Adesina
2017/07/02 Dr. Akinwumi Adesina is focusing on five areas to achieve the African and world goals for a prosperous continent since becoming president of the African Development Bank - Africa's major public financial institution in September 2015. He was a keynote speaker at this month's Corporate Council on Africa's U.S.- Africa Business Summit in Washington D.C. and moderated a lively panel with five African government ministers. He as well received the Gene White Lifetime Succcess Award from the World Child Nutrition Foundation. This week, he was named the 2017 recipient of the World Food Prize, a prestigious honor that includes a $250,000 award. In an interview in Washington, DC, Adesina discussed the Development Bank's ambitious schedule and his vision for attracting the increase capital Africa needs. Posting questions for AllAfrica was Noluthando Crockett-Ntonga.
Climate change laws around the world
2017/05/14 There has been a 20-fold increase in the number of global climate change laws since 1997, according to the most comprehensive database of relevant policy and legislation. The database, produced by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and the Sabin Center on Climate Change Law, includes more than 1,200 relevant policies across 164 countries, which account for 95% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Beyond the obvious: a celebration of the Nama Riel dance in Karoo, South Africa.
2016/07/23 This month actor Louise Linton caused a social media storm at the same time as an extract of her African gap year memoir was published by the Telegraph and was widely panned online for being a tick inventory of cliches and stereotypes in the way the west has always liked to portray the continent. On Twitter, #LintonLies, set up by Zambian writer Lydia Ngoma, was trending as people started to pour scorn on Linton’s version of certain events and her take on life there. Think: “close encounters with lions”, “brutal tales of rape and murder,” and 12-inch long spiders, which would be terrifying, though they only exist in Laos.
Malawi Outlook for 2012-16
2013/08/18 The country (Malawi) has borders with Mozambique for 1569 km, Tanzania for 475km and Zambia for 837km. Land in Malawi is thin elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains. It is situated in Southern Africa, east of Zambia. The climate is sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November). tonga 1.7%, other 3.6% (1998 census). OVERVIEW The president, Joyce Banda, and her People's Party are likely to remain in power until the elections in 2014. Popular discontent over rising prices will remain high and could intensify if the government fails to mitigate the effects and turn the economy around. Backing from the IMF and the liberalisation of the exchange-rate regime will improve investor sentiment and reduce the risk of further foreign-exchange shortages, although this will leave Ms Banda vulnerable to attacks from a additional populist opposition.