The Board of Directors of the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) has challenged the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, Engineer William Kaipa to end institutional inertia and bring a dawn of new discipline within the utility.
In a high-stakes introduction to the Executive Management team on Monday, Board Chairperson Alfred Nhlema made it clear that Eng. Kaipa’s appointment is not a routine leadership change but a final call for a radical institutional overhaul.
The Board Chairperson challenged the new CEO and his management team to move beyond administration and adopt a “leadership command centre” mentality to solve the nation’s power crisis.
“The Board did not appoint Engineer William Kaipa to manage continuity; we appointed him to lead transformation. History will not remember our meetings. History will remember our outcomes,” said Nhlema.
Nhlema said the Board has handed Eng. Kaipa a mandate rooted in engineering precision and strategic courage to deliver immediate, measurable improvements in grid resilience, faster fault restoration, operational discipline and restored public trust.
The Board Chairperson emphasized that the nation’s confidence is at stake, noting that when ESCOM fails, hospitals, factories, and students suffer.
To prevent this, the Board has pledged its strategic support for the new CEO to make bold and difficult decisions necessary to restore the utility’s performance credibility.
”From today, every function must see itself as part of one national delivery machine,” Nhlema stated, signaling that the Board will now measure success through the lens of customer satisfaction and regional performance KPIs.
The ESCOM Board of Directors appointed Eng. Kaipa effective 1st April, 2026.
“History will remember our outcomes.”
Alfred Nhlema
ESCOM Board Chairperson
