Chakwera fumes at public officers

President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera has rebuked public officers who he said are frustrating development by putting personal interests first against the national good.

Chakwera said this after commissioning the project in Salima.

He said the solar power project has partly been delayed because of some bureaucracies.

He called for patriotism and hard work noting that foreign aid will not develop the country but through homegrown investments.

“One issue of concern that this project highlights are that while our governance systems guarantee the security of private investments in this sector, it is clear that our governance systems in this sector are too slow.

“For serious developers like JCM Power, Malawi cannot afford to have governance systems that take eight years for a project like this to move from conception to completion,” said Chakwera.

Turning to the Solar power plant, Chakwera said the first 60 megawatt JCM Power Solar photovoltaic in Malawi to connect to the national grid is a blueprint for future projects in a number of respects.

“Not only does Malawi have a vast energy market, owing to a demand for electricity that far outweighs the supply, but Malawi also boasts of a peaceful environment and strong regulatory framework that guarantee the security of direct foreign investments for projects of this size, ” Chakwera said.

The project implementation commenced in 2018 and the 60 megawatts boost the country’s electricity supply by 20 percent.

The project is a $75 million (about K61 billion) investment.