EDM cuts power to schools and social institutions, but ministries retain high debts

Among the affected institutions are public schools, hospitals, police stations, and provincial directorates, typically those of lesser prominence with debts below 1 million meticais.

However, some key ministries, including the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, which has a debt exceeding 2 million meticais, have escaped the power cuts. According to TORRE.News, this ministry is not the only one with substantial debts that are not subjected to EDM's cuts.

The penalized institutions do not understand the dual standards applied by EDM, considering the extreme measures detrimental to the functioning of state apparatus.

Martinho Namburete, director of Eduardo Mondlane Secondary School in Maputo, confirms that his school frequently suffers power cuts due to delayed bill payments managed by the Provincial Directorate of Education through the E-SISTAF system, which is often slow due to bureaucracies.

“We are facing challenges due to the need to support both night and day classes. The lack of electricity prevents night classes from being held, directly impacting the school's operation,” Namburete stated.

He also emphasized that the responsibility for paying electricity bills lies with the Directorate of Education, and the school must maintain constant communication to address these issues.

Estrela Vermelha Secondary School, also in Maputo, faces the same problem. An anonymous source informed TORRE.News that the power cuts negatively impact the teaching and learning process since, without electricity, the computer equipment available to students becomes useless.

“Without electricity, these computers, this technological equipment adds no value to the teaching process,” lamented the source.

In Matola city, Maputo province, provincial directorates also report power cuts due to debts, primarily in institutions whose activities do not generate revenue.

This issue is managed silently, without recorded interviews, as the responsibility for channeling funds for these expenses lies with the central government, which does not do so regularly.

A source in the off-grid energy sector, who preferred to remain anonymous, criticized EDM for cutting power to schools and social institutions while heavily investing in the universal access to energy project.

For this source, the cuts may contradict the government initiative of expanding energy access and argues that EDM should find a solution with the Ministry of Economy and Finance to avoid paralyzing public institutions.

In a previous piece published by TORRE.News, EDM acknowledged that electrifying the country is quite costly but assured that it is ready to implement the “Energy for All” project.

Before concluding this article, TORRE.News contacted EDM for explanations on the criteria for power cuts. The company requested questions be sent, but as of the publication of this article, there had been no response to the questionnaire.