In . J . o Con emp. Res. in Mul i. PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL Volume 4 Issue 5 [Sep- Oc ] Yea 2025
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© 2025 Rona d J Chikabadwa, D . J. Me lin Sheela Magdaline. This is an open-access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion
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Resea ch A icle
An E alua ion o The P epaymen Me e ing Sys em: A Case o
Manase, Blan y e, Malawi
Rona d J Chikabadwa*1, D . J. Me lin Sheela Magdaline 2
1 Mas e o Comme ce Finance and Accoun s, DMI-S . Eugene Uni e si y, Zambia
2 Senio Lec u e , DMI-S . Eugene Uni e si y, Zambia
Co esponding Au ho : *Rona d J Chikabadwa DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.17328615
Abs ac
Manusc ip In o ma ion
This s udy e alua es he implemen a ion and impac o he p epaymen me e ing sys em in
Manase Township, Blan y e, Malawi. The esea ch assesses he sys em's e ec i eness in
imp o ing e enue collec ion o he Elec ici y Supply Co po a ion o Malawi (ESCOM) and
enhancing cus ome sa is ac ion. Da a we e collec ed h ough su eys, in e iews, and
seconda y sou ces, in ol ing 180 esiden ial cus ome s and ESCOM o icials. Findings
indica e a signi ican educ ion in ou s anding deb s and ope a ional cos s, alongside imp o ed
cash low and cus ome budge ing capabili ies. Howe e , challenges such as me e
mal unc ions, limi ed ending access on weekends and holidays, and ne wo k issues we e
iden i ied. The s udy concludes ha he p epaymen sys em is la gely bene icial bu equi es
in as uc u al and ope a ional imp o emen s o op imal pe o mance. Recommenda ions
include in es ing in high-quali y me e s, expanding ending access, and enhancing s akeholde
engagemen .
▪ ISSN No: 2583-7397
▪ Recei ed: 05-08-2025
▪ Accep ed: 28-09-2025
▪ Published: 11-10-2025
▪ IJCRM:4(5); 2025: 310-311
▪ ©2025, All Righ s Rese ed
▪ Plagia ism Checked: Yes
▪ Pee Re iew P ocess: Yes
How o Ci e his A icle
Chikabadwa RJ, Magdaline JMS. An
e alua ion o he p epaymen
me e ing sys em: A case o Manase,
Blan y e, Malawi. In J Con emp Res
Mul idiscip. 2025;4(5):310-311.
Access his A icle Online
www.mul ia iclesjou nal.com
KEYWORDS: P epaymen me e ing, e enue collec ion, cus ome sa is ac ion, ESCOM, ene gy managemen .
1. INTRODUCTION
• Backg ound o he opic: P epaymen me e ing sys ems
ha e been adop ed globally o add ess e enue loss and
ope a ional ine iciencies in u ili y se ices. In Malawi,
ESCOM in oduced he sys em in 2012/2013 o mi iga e
ising cus ome deb s and imp o e inancial sus ainabili y.
• Impo ance and pu pose o he a icle: This s udy
examines he sys em’s e ec i eness, challenges, and socio-
economic impac s in Manase Township, p o iding insigh s
o u u e implemen a ions.
In . J . o Con emp. Res. in Mul i. PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL Volume 4 Issue 5 [Sep- Oc ] Yea 2025
311
© 2025 Rona d J Chikabadwa, D . J. Me lin Sheela Magdaline. This is an open-access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion
4.0 In e na ional License (CC BY NC ND).h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/
• Objec i es o Resea ch
• Measu e sys em e ec i eness in e enue collec ion and loss
educ ion.
• Diagnose implemen a ion ba ie s.
• Gauge use pe spec i es on sa is ac ion and ai ness.
• Compa e egional ou comes and analyze u ili y impac s.
• Recommend sys em enhancemen s.
• Scope o he discussion: The s udy ocuses on Manase
Township, co e ing echnical, ope a ional, and cus ome -
cen ic aspec s o he p epaymen sys em.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
• O e iew o p e ious s udies o ele an esea ch:
P epaymen me e ing has been widely s udied in con ex s
like Sou h A ica and Kenya, whe e i educed non-
echnical losses and imp o ed cash low (Fa uqui e al.,
2010; Eskom, 2015). Howe e , issues o ene gy po e y
and accessibili y pe sis (G aham & Ap , 2018).
• Theo e ical amewo k: The s udy d aws on sys ems
heo y (Chadwick, 1978) and ansac ional in e ace
concep s (Aus in, 2002), aming me e s as ools o
measu emen , media ion, and communica ion be ween
u ili ies and consume s.
3. MAIN CONTENT / DISCUSSION
• Explana ion o key concep s: P epaymen me e ing
in ol es up on paymen o elec ici y, using okens o
sma ca ds, wi h au oma ic disconnec ion upon c edi
exhaus ion.
• Analysis wi h suppo ing e idence:
• ESCOM’s e enue inc eased om MK 484 million o MK
650 million annually pos -implemen a ion.
• Ope a ional cos s dec eased due o educed me e eading
and disconnec ion ac i i ies.
• Case s udies, examples, o da a: Su ey da a om
Manase Township e ealed ha 89% o cus ome s ound
bill paymen easie , and 94% epo ed imp o ed budge ing
and consump ion moni o ing.
4. Findings / Obse a ions
• Key insigh s de i ed om he discussion:
• The p epaymen sys em educed ou s anding deb s by o e
60% wi hin six mon hs.
• Cus ome sa is ac ion was high due o inancial con ol and
anspa ency.
• Sys em laws included me e ailu es (18% o su eyed
me e s) and limi ed ending access on non-wo king days.
• Any s a is ical analysis o esul s: Chi-squa e es s (χ² =
122.66) and eg ession analysis ( = -0.985) con i med a
signi ican nega i e co ela ion be ween ime and
ou s anding deb , alida ing sys em e ec i eness.
5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• Summa y o he main poin s: The p epaymen me e ing
sys em has p o en e ec i e in enhancing e enue
collec ion and cus ome empowe men in Manase
Township. Howe e , echnical and ope a ional challenges
need o be add essed.
• Sugges ions o u u e esea ch o ac ions:
• In es in high-quali y, du able me e s.
• Expand ending access ia au oma ed machines and mobile
pla o ms.
• Enhance s akeholde communica ion and aining.
• Conduc u he esea ch on socio- echnical in eg a ion and
me e du abili y be o e na ionwide ollou .
REFERENCES
1. Aus in BJ. Me e ing o u ili ies. Ame ican Lewa Inc.,
2002.
2. Chadwick G. A sys em iew o planning. Ox o d
Uni e si y P ess, 1978.
3. Fa uqui A, e al. The impac o p epaymen me e s on
ene gy consump ion. Ene gy Policy. 2010.
4. G aham P, Ap J. Equi y in ene gy access: P epaymen
me e s in de eloping na ions. Ene gy Res Soc Sci. 2018.
5. Simpson R. Ene gy measu emen s: A cus ome
pe spec i e. Ene gy Measu emen s L d, 1996.
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Abou he Co esponding Au ho
Rona d J. Chikabadwa is a pos g adua e
schola pu suing a Mas e o Comme ce in
Finance and Accoun s a DMI-S . Eugene
Uni e si y, Zambia. His esea ch in e es s
include inancial managemen , ene gy
sys ems, and p epaymen me e ing. He aims o
con ibu e o sus ainable economic p ac ices
h ough academic esea ch and p ac ical
applica ions.
