Economics Association of Malawi (Ecama) has stated that Treasury’s spending in the energy sector is (verbatim) too little and insignificant. Ecama has therefore attributed power outages to the inadequate expenditure on the energy sector.

According to Ecama’s analysis which was presented at the first pre-budget consultation meeting for the 2019/20 National Budget in Lilongwe, Treasury’s budget allocation as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) has remained below 1% between 2016/17 and 2018/19 fiscal years.

The development follows after UN advised Malawi to increase investment in the energy sector, during the launch of the Malawi Investment Study, in February this year.

UN Secretary General for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States Fekitamoeloa ‘Utoikamanu, acknowledged that improvements in energy access is bound to positively affect other sectors of the economy. Meanwhile, Germany vowed to invest in bio energy, while Escom has been announcing completion of new power plants.