Egenco to Plant 35,000 Trees This Season
Egenco Chief Executive Officer Mackson Chitawo says their company depends on the Shire River to generate power.
NENO, Malawi- The Energy Generation Company (Egenco) Limited says it will plant a total of 35,000 trees along the Shire River during this year's tree planting season as a way of protecting the main source of Malawi's electricity generation, the Shire River, writes By Luke Chimwaza.
Egenco Chief Executive Officer Mackson Chitawo says their company depends on the Shire River to generate power.
However, the river gets water from various streams along it.
It is against this background that Egenco wants to cover all streams to avoid siltation, which affects the performance of hydroelectric power generation.
He said this on Wednesday at Lisungwi Community Day Secondary School in the area of Chief Symon Likongwe in Neno, on the sidelines of the company's launch of its tree planting exercise this year.
"We will follow the Shire River from Mangochi, Machinga, Balaka, Blantyre and Neno to plant a total of 35,000 trees, and at the same time put measures for their sustainability," Chitawo said.
"However, we ably control water from Mangochi, Machinga and Balaka through our barrage in Liwonde, while water flowing from streams in Neno comes straight into the Shire and to our machines. The only best solution of purifying the waters is through planting trees so that we should be receiving clean water that will not affect power generation. This is the reason we decided to start with Lisungwi, which is very close to our machines, by planting 5,000 trees today."
Guest of honor at the event, Minister of Energy Ibrahim Matola, said after President Chakwera launched the tree planting season in Phalombe, the Ministry of Energy and Egenco felt duty bound to take responsibility for leading environmental conservation initiatives.
"The world now is advocating for a clean economy and green energy, and in Malawi we make our energy through hydro power," Matola said.
"Our president is emphasizing environmental conservation. I am happy Egenco has taken a step further to implement what President Lazarus Chakwera initiated early last month when he launched tree planting. As a line ministry, we can assure Egenco our maximum support so that it continues producing power without challenges."
Meanwhile, Neno South legislator Mark Katsonga and Council Chairperson Montfort Bwanali have vowed to take the tree planting exercise further to all parts of the district to curb problems associated with environmental mismanagement, which has seen Neno receiving intermittent rains leading to endless hunger among people in the district.
Werani Chilenga, chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Environment, Neno District Commissioner Rosemary Nawasha, former Neno South lawmaker Joe Manduwa, Lisungwi Community Day Secondary School students and teachers, as well as village headmen and hundreds of community members around Lisungwi attended the event.