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Zimbabwe suffers from fuel crisis
24-04-05 Zimbabwe's social and economic sectors are on the brink of collapse as crippling fuel shortages have resurfaced while a combination of power blackouts and water shortages have gripped cities around the country threatening to grind industry and commerce to a halt. Apart from that, Zimbabwe has run out of food with reports that the country has only 60,000 tons of maize left, enough to feed the nation for only two weeks.
Industrialists and commentators said that Zimbabwe's industry and commerce would soon collapse if the current problems bedevilling the country are not urgently addressed. Already, the transport industry is reeling from the fuel crisis. Earlier, most commuter buses were grounded, leaving workers stranded especially in the country's major towns of Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare and Masvingo.
Obert Mpofu, the Minister of Industry and International Trade, insisted that the fuel situation would have improved within a few days.
"All stakeholders are working towards arresting the fuel problem," Mpofu said.
One of the causes of the current crisis is the delay in paying fuel suppliers. As much as $ 2.5 mm due to suppliers since February has not been released and this has adversely impacted on the creditworthiness of Zimbabwean fuel importers. The reason for the delay in paying external fuel suppliers was a demand by the authorities to four or five indigenous fuel importers who reportedly failed to account for the money they were given to import fuel.
As a result of the delay in releasing the funds since February, a consortium supplying the southern half of the country has not been able to bring in fuel because the external suppliers, among them Sasol, are reluctant "to put good money after bad money".
In smaller towns such as Kadoma and Kwekwe, Marondera and Zvishavane, the situation is equally bad and has given rise to a thriving parallel market. In Gweru and Harare, five litres of petrol are going for $ 150,000 and $ 60,000 respectively on the parallel market, against an average pump price of $ 3,600. Unscrupulous public transporters were cashing in on the crisis charging as much as $ 5,000 for the Harare to Chitungwiza route, twice the gazetted fare.
Long queues of desperate motorists, wasting productive time in search of fuel, have become the order of the day at many service stations in the country. On the power supply front, the countrywide blackout resulted in loss of business for most companies.
Most food outlets in Harare were reduced to soft drinks retailers after the power cuts prevented them from preparing fresh food. In supermarkets, perishables such as meat and milk products were thrown away after they went bad -- resulting in huge losses for businesses.
"Our losses run into millions of dollars," said a manager at a supermarket in Harare's Central Business District (CBD).
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