HARARE, Zimbabwe
Fuel queues reappeared in Harare last week, with several service stations having run out of petrol, evoking memories of the fuel crisis of late 2018 and 2019 when motorists spent days in queues.
This
comes as the festive season draws close when thousands of Zimbabweans traverse
the country to their holiday destinations.
Speaking
in an interview with NewsDay Weekender on Friday (December
10), National Oil Company Infrastructure of Zimbabwe board chairperson Daniel
Mackenzie Ncube said the fuel challenges emanated from Mozambique.
He
said that an unscheduled maintenance exercise at pumping stations in Mozambique
had resulted in fuel shortages in Zimbabwe but the situation should normalise
in “a day or two”. Said Mackenzie Ncube:
“We
had a problem in Mozambique where they were maintaining the port so they were
not pumping. … We have started pumping now. The problem should normalise in a
day or two.”
“The
scheduling in Mozambique caught us offside when they closed the port for
maintenance”.
Mackenzie
Ncube added that there was very little petrol in stock before Mozambique closed
the port and this explains the petrol shortages.
He
said:
“What
we were holding was a bit low because of the pricing of petrol, so the dealers
tend to sell each time they get fuel. They put it to the market instead of
holding some of it”.
“I
can’t tell you in terms of numbers, but for a few days we were not pumping but
we normally pump around four million a day, but for diesel, we were holding
stocks, but for petrol, our stocks were a bit on the low side and that is why
they depleted very quickly”.
“We
have been massaging the problem since last week hoping that it won’t get this
far, but fortunately, we are now pumping”.
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