Maravi

Fuel crisis hits Eastern Province again

COMMENT - Zambia needs to move toward producing it's own biodiesel locally.

Fuel crisis hits Eastern Province again
By Christopher Miti in Chipata
Mon 16 Nov. 2009, 04:01 CAT

MOST districts in Eastern Province have been hit by a fuel shortage barely one week after a seemingly stable supply of the commodity. The fuel situation had partially improved when President Rupiah Banda visited the province.

A survey conducted in some districts revealed that most of the service stations had run out of fuel. By yesterday morning, none of the three service stations in Chipata had petrol. One of the fuel attendants at BP filling station said the service station only had diesel.

“You know the fuel crisis has continued because here we only have diesel and that's the situation in these other service stations so we hope things will improve. It is somehow tricky to contain the situation because the demand is too high,” the fuel attendant said.

In Petauke, only one of the three service stations had petrol by 10:00 hours yesterday.

One of the motorists said only Kobil had petrol and there was a possibility that it would run out due to high demand.

“I am just coming from the filling station to buy petrol but what I have seen is that they are somehow rationing because they told me that they want to give priority to those that have accounts there,” he said.

Lundazi had both diesel and petrol but there was fear that diesel might run out by today.

Nyimba service station only had petrol by press time.

The shortage of fuel has brought about an increase in vending of the commodity from smugglers who are buying the commodity from Malawi and Mozambique.

Labels: EASTERN PROVINCE, FUEL, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 5:03 AM