The Chief Operations Officer for Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) Limited has cautioned the general public that denying assigned staff member’s access to premises is an offence and if found will be imprisoned to 10 years plus K50 million fine, according to the Electricity Amendment Act of 2024.
Engineer Maxwell Mulimakwenda said this on Tuesday, March 25 after paying a visit to four staff members who were assaulted in Mangochi Town (Ndata location) on Monday whereby one of them Chipiliro White Banda experienced serious head injuries.
Mulimakwenda described the visit intention was to comfort and encourage the affected staff members as ESCOM’s Executive Management values much the safety of its employees in line with the corporations Intergrated Strategic Plan for 2023-2027.
Speaking to Umoyo Radio the Chief Operations Officer for ESCOM, Engineer Maxwell Mulimakwenda said the increase of attacks and hostility towards the Corporation’s staff members in Mangochi, are affecting the service delivery when performing their daily duties in some premises.
Mulimakwenda said since Electricity is one of the major developmental issues in the country, communities should have to cooperate with ESCOM in order to get assisted, no matter there is pole or transformer within their premises or not, citing that property still belongs to ESCOM.
On Monday earlier this week, Mangochi Police arrested Yusuf Ahamadu Mpunga aged 46, for allegedly wounding Chipiliro Banda with ESCOM’s safety belt on the head and threatening his colleagues when they entered his compound to connect electricity for new customers in the area as part of the Malawi Electricity Access Projects implementation.
Meanwhile Mpunga, who hails from Mgundaphiri village, Traditional Authority Mapira in Mangochi district, is expected to appear before court to answer charges of unlawful wounding, upon completion of paperwork.