By Suleman Chitera
The Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) Limited Board Chairperson, Alfred Nhlema, says the Board has set clear policy targets aimed at strengthening operational efficiency, improving fault response times, and restoring public confidence in the Corporation.
In an interview on the sidelines of Board orientation at ESCOM Mpemba Training Centre in Blantyre on Monday, Nhlema acknowledged that persistent operational challenges particularly shortages of mobility and technical resources have continued to undermine service reliability and delay fault clearance across the country.
He said the Board has responded by repositioning operational performance as a top strategic and enterprise risk, subject to direct Board-level oversight.
Nhlema said this will include close monitoring of fault response times, maintenance backlogs, and overall network reliability.
“To improve service delivery, the Board has realigned institutional priorities to ensure that frontline operations are adequately supported. This includes ring-fencing resources for mobility, accelerating procurement of critical spares, and shifting the organisation towards a more preventive maintenance approach,” he said.
Nhlema added that accountability remains a cornerstone of the Board’s policy direction and as such, the Board will strengthen performance contracting arrangements by directly linking executive and management performance to service restoration times, network uptime, and customer responsiveness.
On execution, the Board Chairperson said ESCOM will focus on improving discipline across the organisation by clarifying priorities, reducing bureaucratic delays, and empowering management to act decisively within clear governance controls.
In addition to policy and resource alignment, Nhlema outlined a robust performance monitoring framework that the Board will enforce to ensure timely fault resolution and improved customer experience across all regions.
The framework includes Board-approved service standards for fault response and restoration times, network availability, and customer complaint resolution. A balanced scorecard with a strong emphasis on operational performance and customer experience will enable consistent regional performance assessment.
“Performance contracts will be cascaded from the Chief Executive Officer to regional managers, directly linking accountability to fault resolution timelines and customer service outcomes. Standardized dashboards and reporting systems will also be introduced to provide real-time visibility on faults, restoration performance, fleet availability, and customer feedback,” said Nhlema.
Nhlema added that regular Board operational reviews and consequent management mechanisms will ensure underperformance is addressed promptly, while best practices are scaled across the Corporation.
“In essence, the Board’s focus is to ensure that governance decisions translate into tangible operational improvements. Our objective is to restore service reliability and rebuild public confidence through measurable, visible outcomes that customers can feel,” said Nhlema.
