Malawi, one of the poorest countries on the planet, fell into darkness on Saturday night due to a major power outage, according to a press release from the National Energy Company (Escom).
“On Saturday, June 18, 2022, at around 18:00, a system failure caused a power outage in the country. “Efforts are being made to restore electricity as soon as possible,” Eskom said. Apologizing for the inconvenience, the public company advised its users to turn off their electrical appliances, “because the electricity can be restored earlier than expected.” Massive power outages have been taking place in the country for several months, which can last up to eight hours.
In late January, Malawi residents were without power for three days after Hurricane Ana hit Dozens of people in South Africa and damaged one of the country’s main power plants. This new national cut has angered Internet users. “Let’s just admit that our country is poor and collapsed,” one resident wrote on Facebook. “In other countries there is a power outage for ten minutes, the minister goes out to apologize to the people.”
Malawi is facing major economic difficulties and numerous political scandals involving corruption. According to the World Bank, less than 15% of the population, which has a population of more than 19 million, have access to electricity – more than 90% – from hydropower plants. More than half of the population lives below the poverty line.
Source: Le Figaro
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