Communities Appeal To ESCOM over a Service Centre in Phalombe
Some concerned communities in Phalombe have appealed to the Power utility body, Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) to establish an office in the district to cut costs which they incur when seeking services at Mulanje Boma.
Both Maxwell Piriminta of Mpasa and Peter Dauda of Maliro area have told Zodiak Online on Wednesday that prospective customers applying for electricity connection cover over 160 Kilometers to and from Phalombe besides getting assistance late once a fault has been reported.
The two concerned say the situation is forcing people to dig deeper into their pockets whenever applying for new electricity connections at Mulanje Boma offices.
"We have been appealing to ESCOM officials to consider opening its office at Phalombe so that they can cut costs but to no avail," they complained.
However, in a written response, the power utility’s body spokesperson, Kitty Chingota, says plans are under way to open offices in Phalombe and Neno respectively to address the issue at hand.
Since Phalombe was delinked from Mulanje District Council in 1998, people seeking new electricity connections travel to Mulanje, a distance of over 80 kilometers.