Chilima promises to remove water, electricity connection fees: ‘Ready to make Malawi happy nation’
Vice president Saulos Chilima has promised that once voted into power as Head of State on May 21, the UTM led government would remove connection fees for water and electricity.
Chilima said this in Mzimba when he addressed a highly patronized rally.
Speaking in fluent Tumbuka, Chilima said there is a common saying that water is life but access to the commodity is very difficult for most Malawians and UTM wants to recognise its importance by removing all the barriers to easy access to water and electricity.
He said his government would reduce value added tax (VAT) on water and electricity to make the utility readily accessible to many Malawians.
“You have heard most of our promises since Masintha but most people have been asking what our manifesto says on water and electricity. I want to announce today that UTM believes in universal access to water and electricity,” he said to the ululation of the excited crowd.
This, he said, would be done after ensuring operations at financially-troubled Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) are improved.
He said this after the country is experiencing a 24 hour blackout after Electricity Generation Company (Egenco), the country’s main producer of power and Escom issued a joint statement saying the hydro power generation has been reduced drastically due to excessive trash which has blocked intake screens at Kapichira and Nkula power stations as a result of heavy rains.
The statement says this has resulted in a loss of about 165MW of hydro generation capacity out of the recently available 326.45MW.
The Vice President also promised the people of Mzimba that his government will construct the road that leads to Nyika National Park and a proper airport at the venue of the rally which was held at old Mzimba Airfield.
Before the rally which drew a large crowd, Chilima held some Imbizos at Embangweni, Edingeni, Engalaweni and Manyamula where huge crowds of people engaged him in a number of issues that his government will do come May.
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It is a well documented fact that magetsi in Malawi is on the cheaper side and not sustainable. Govt can not run without taxes and sometimes it helps to tax commodities that are in demand thought I think the 16.5 is on the higher side. Anyways these are promises. SKC was in charge of reforms and Escom was one of the companies he focused on. He never mentioned these things then as part of reforms. Why not. Moreover if someone wants electricity surely he has items he wants to power. And he is ready to pay bills. So how can… Read more »
Water and electricity are a basic human right. The amount of tax payers money lost to bribery inefficiency and corruption as well as bad decisions could easily pay for provision of all such basic infrastructure instead of lining a few peoples pockets…. I rest my case!
U have my vote
Your bwana president ndiye waboza chifukwa ati asandusa Malawi kufika pa Europe eg France
Aaaah I think this man could be mentally unstable tu eti? Amamvetsadi bwino mmene boma limayendera iyeyu? Gov needs money for medicine, defence, subsidized fertilizer, salaries for civil servants etc etc. Nde tiyerekeze kuti people are not paying for electricity and water connections where will you get money for these expenses? Where will you get the power (electricity) to suffice 17 million people who will scramble for free connections? How will you deliver the power to the remote parts of Malawi since power transmission lines are expensive? Where will you get money for your bullet train which you said you… Read more »
That is to the contrary, what he meant was connection fees or in short tariffs imposed before even water or electricity is accessed by house holds . In Accounting the short way to put is VAT, the additional sum that is levied for us to actually get a water pipe in our homes or to get electricity connection line. He did not say people won’t pay monthly water / electricty Bill’s. I don’t like him either but I won’t misrepresent what he meant .
From ‘bullet train’ to ‘1 million jobs’ to ‘3 meals a day’ now to ‘increased utilities’……… keep spinning lies Bwana!
Mwana okhweba ayamba uyu mutesi chomene munkhungu wakwiba mavoti
ma cadet mwabizika kuona za chilima nanga zokuba za maliseche simukuziona nanga inuyo munagwilapo mboma muzisusa , pano tinakusilani ma page amenewa mukangoona nkani yachilima kutamanga kupanga crash koma nanga inuyo anzeru osayambisa bwanji kampeni yanu ndikumanena zimenezo bwanji , nkani za chilima ma cadet mumachita kuiwaka ngati galu woponyeledwa fupa lanyama, komaso muntu akukomenta apa ndi mmozi koma angosintasinta maina
What a silly promise. Anthu a kumudzi aziti chani?
koma iwe za kupweteka kikikikiiiiiii pita kazimangilile, ife toto Malawi Crocodile Party,(MCP) yina pita 1994 tinayiwalako.poti yinalamulapo zaka 30 yidikile zaka 30 ziduse
How many Malawians have access to electricity and portable water in Malawi? Should a poor man and woman in the country subdisise those few beneficiaries? Surely some of these policies wouldn’t be useful in Malawi.