Diesel shortage hits Harare
By Gugulethu Nyazema, Senior Writer
Monday, 24 October 2011 08:56
HARARE – Harare has been hit by a shortage of diesel that has affected
various sectors of the economy.
A snap survey by the Daily News yesterday revealed that most service
stations did not have the precious commodity.
Fuel attendants told the Daily News the diesel supplies to service stations
has been erratic for the past month.
Most attendants suspected that the dwindling supplies were a result of
maintenance work being carried out on tanks at the National Oil Company of
Zimbabwe (Noczim).
“We suspect that supply cannot meet demand because fuel dealers have to go
all the way to Mozambique to get the diesel. Noczim is giving out limited
amounts of diesel, while they repair their tanks.
“We are getting 15 000 litres less than what we normally get, from Noczim,”
said McDonald Fende, a Total Service Station fuel attendant in the city.
Most BP service stations had the precious commodity but was availing diesel
to account holders only.
The attendants said that most BP service stations were operating on reserve
tanks with the hope that renewed supplies of diesel would resume.
Black market fuel dealers are already cashing in on the shortage with most
selling it at almost double the usual price of $1,35 per litre.
The shortage, some observers said, could also be due to increased demand for
diesel as most households and the industry have resorted to the use of
generators to augment limited electricity supplies due to load shedding.
Mining companies in August told a Parliamentary committee on Indigenisation
that they use thousands of litres of diesel in generators per month to
support their operations when there is no electricity.
The shortage is also set to hit the agricultural community which critically
needs the precious liquid for the preparation of the 2011-2012 farming
season.
Minister of Energy and Power Development Elton Mangoma and Noczim
authorities were not available to comment on the issue at hand.
This is not the first time the country, under the inclusive government, has
been faced by fuel shortages.
Minister Mangoma had to resort to a controversial deal with a South African
company, NOOA Petroleum for the supply of five million litres of fuel to
avert a severe fuel shortage at the beginning of this year.
He was arrested but the High Court later ruled that he had done it to save
the country from a catastrophic shortage of the product.
Mangoma sanctioned the purchase of $4, 4 million worth of diesel from the
little-known South African petrol agent at the height of fuel problems in
January.
Mangoma was later arrested following the botched deal for not following the
proper tendering procedures and later acquitted.