A great power deal signed between Malawi and Mozambique and which,
President Joyce Banda of Malawi says, will end the blackouts in her
country.
Students at Jacaranda School for Orphans learnt how to transform parafin lamps into solar lamps: a free and very bright solution that we owe to a partnership with Evans Wadongo from Kenya and the Shanghai American School in China. I will soon write more in this blog about the urgent need to develop solar power in Malawi. Let’s not forget that less than 15% of Malawians have access to electricity.
Yesterday, Mr Armando Guebuza, President of Mozambique who is currently on a state visit to Malawi, held talks with Mrs Joyce Banda which led to the signature of a power interconnection agreement whereby Malawi will be buying electricity from Mozambique (through a powerline from Motambo power substation in Mozambique passing through Malawi and connecting with Nacala in Mozambique, covering 1,000 kilometres). This project will be financed by the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the Norwegian government. It will hopefully transform the electrical grid of Malawi, where blackouts happen not only in the evening but also frequently doing the day. Imagine the damage created to companies throughout the country, forced to limit their activities and spend huge amounts on generators and fuel. It is very disrupting and a big strain on the development of the country.
This new partnership between Malawi and Mozambique is welcome. By working hand in hand with its neighbors, Malawi can gain a lot. Mozambique is literally encircling the whole Southern half of Malawi and yet, there are no flights between Blantyre and Mozambique (you need to pass through South Africa to reach Maputo…) and there has been very limited cooperation between the two countries so far. Why? In the eighties, Malawi opened its doors to over a million refugees from Mozambique, fleeing the civil war in their country. The lives of so many Malawian and Mozambican people are interconnected. Developing trade and communication between both countries has been long overdue.
Students at Jacaranda School for Orphans learnt how to transform parafin lamps into solar lamps: a free and very bright solution that we owe to a partnership with Evans Wadongo from Kenya and the Shanghai American School in China. I will soon write more in this blog about the urgent need to develop solar power in Malawi. Let’s not forget that less than 15% of Malawians have access to electricity.
Yesterday, Mr Armando Guebuza, President of Mozambique who is currently on a state visit to Malawi, held talks with Mrs Joyce Banda which led to the signature of a power interconnection agreement whereby Malawi will be buying electricity from Mozambique (through a powerline from Motambo power substation in Mozambique passing through Malawi and connecting with Nacala in Mozambique, covering 1,000 kilometres). This project will be financed by the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the Norwegian government. It will hopefully transform the electrical grid of Malawi, where blackouts happen not only in the evening but also frequently doing the day. Imagine the damage created to companies throughout the country, forced to limit their activities and spend huge amounts on generators and fuel. It is very disrupting and a big strain on the development of the country.
This new partnership between Malawi and Mozambique is welcome. By working hand in hand with its neighbors, Malawi can gain a lot. Mozambique is literally encircling the whole Southern half of Malawi and yet, there are no flights between Blantyre and Mozambique (you need to pass through South Africa to reach Maputo…) and there has been very limited cooperation between the two countries so far. Why? In the eighties, Malawi opened its doors to over a million refugees from Mozambique, fleeing the civil war in their country. The lives of so many Malawian and Mozambican people are interconnected. Developing trade and communication between both countries has been long overdue.
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