Rights group blasts DPP govt over blackout crisis crippling Malawi  hospitals, schools and businesses

Fury has erupted over Malawi’s crippling electricity blackouts, with a leading human rights group demanding the government “come out clear” and stop hiding behind press statements as the crisis wreaks havoc across the country.

The Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) has issued a blistering attack on ministers, accusing them of failing to give Malawians an honest explanation for power cuts that campaigners say have gone far beyond mere inconvenience — and are now endangering lives.

HRDC Chairperson Michael Kaiyatsa did not mince his words, warning that the blackouts represent nothing short of a “violation of people’s right to dignity and basic services.”

“Malawians are suffering. The blackouts are crippling businesses and destroying livelihoods. This is not just an inconvenience. It is a violation of people’s right to dignity and basic services,” he told Nyasa Times.

Students, he warned, are among those bearing the brunt of the crisis, with the darkness threatening to derail the futures of an entire generation.

“In schools and universities, students can’t study at night. Boarding schools are struggling to operate. Our children’s future is being compromised because there is no power to read, do research, or use computers,” he said.

But it is the impact on hospitals that has sparked the gravest alarm, with Kaiyatsa painting a terrifying picture of medical care collapsing in the dark.

“Hospitals are struggling. Theatres are postponing surgeries, vaccines and medicines in fridges are going bad, and maternity wards are working in darkness. How can we talk of quality healthcare when we cannot even keep the lights on?” he demanded.

Small businesses, meanwhile, are being driven to the wall, with entrepreneurs forced to pour millions into diesel just to keep generators running.

“Small businesses are closing. Big companies are spending millions on diesel for generators. Barbers, salons, welding shops, and food vendors cannot operate. Jobs are being lost because companies cannot meet production targets,” Kaiyatsa said.

He went further, warning that the blackouts are now dragging down the entire national economy — compounding an already dire crisis of fuel shortages and forex scarcity.

“The national economy cannot grow in darkness. Factories are producing less, exports are falling, and investors are losing confidence. When you add this to fuel shortages and forex scarcity, you have an economy that is grinding to a halt,” he said.

The HRDC boss has now thrown down the gauntlet to the Minister of Energy, demanding urgent answers — and refusing to accept empty rhetoric.

“We are calling on the Minister of Energy to address these challenges urgently, openly and candidly by giving us timelines, give us solutions, not press statements,” he said.

Kaiyatsa also demanded that Parliament haul in bosses from power utilities ESCOM and EGENCO to explain themselves.

“Parliament must ask them to explain what is going wrong and what the plan is to restore power. Malawians deserve to know,” he said.