Govt works on ensuring steady fuel supply

Source: Govt works on ensuring steady fuel supply – herald

Herald Reporter

THE Government will soon announce additional measures to ensure a steady fuel supply, decent pump prices and prevent a surge in the cost of living.

Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said this last week explaining that the priority was no longer just about fuel price containment, but guaranteeing availability.

Last week, Cabinet approved a review of selected, time-bound fuel taxes to ease inflationary pressures and shield consumers amid supply disruptions linked to the war in the Middle East.

Officials are also weighing raising ethanol blending in petrol from E5 to E20, which will reduce the fuel price by US$0,18 cents per litre.

Prof Ncube said the Government was in constant contact with fuel suppliers to ensure supply remains uninterrupted.

“Already we have been revising levies under the levy reduction strategy,” he said.

“Going forward, we are looking at further fine-tuning those methods (for) both petrol and diesel. This is work in progress. We will be making announcements on further adjustments of these taxes.

“This is about the price containment strategy, also we are using the blending aspect where we are talking with those who supply us ethanol to increase the blending from 5 percent to 20 percent from E5 to E20 and we believe that alone in terms of analysis will reduce the price by US$0,18.”

However, Prof Ncube said it was critically important to remember that the fuel issue is “not just price, but the availability of fuel in the first place”.

“So, making sure that there is a supply of fuel is something that is occupying the Government and making sure we have an adequate supply and also dealing with the price issue,” said Prof Ncube.

The price containment measures follow recent fuel price hikes, with petrol now pegged at US$2,17 per litre.

The fuel supply challenge is not confined to Zimbabwe alone, but is part of a wider global problem affecting many countries’ energy security and daily life, in response to the war being waged against Iran by the US and Israel.

Mauritius announced last week that it would introduce energy-saving measures, while South Sudan’s capital, Juba, faces electricity rationing as African countries contend with shortages caused by disruptions to global oil supplies linked to the Iran conflict.

Mauritius, which depends on imported fossil fuels, has seen its heavy fuel oil stocks dwindle after a shipment due on March 21 failed to arrive, leaving just 15–20 days of supply, Energy Minister Patrick Assirvaden told international media.

In South Africa, media outlets report that the country is confronting an unprecedented fuel challenge that could derail economic recovery, with petrol forecast to rise by over R5 a litre and diesel by about R11 a litre on Wednesday.

The Competition Commission of South Africa warned that price gouging was unlawful, saying suppliers who raise prices ahead of genuine cost increases face prosecution.