via Blending saves $40m annually | The Herald July 4, 2015 by Elita Chikwati
Zimbabwe has been saving $40 million per year in fuel imports since the introduction of blended petrol, a senior official in the Ministry of Energy and Power Development has said.
Government introduced mandatory petrol and ethanol blending in November 2013.
Officiating at the fourth regional consultative meeting on national biofuels policy on Thursday, Ministry of Energy and Power Development director for policy and planning, Engineer Benson Munyaradzi said blending of petrol had significantly reduced the import bill.
“Zimbabwe requires 45 million litres of petrol every month and by blending 10 percent we use less money to procure fuel.
“Currently, the introduction of ethanol has helped reduce the import bill by $40 million per year and the money is used internally to improve other areas,” he said.
Eng Munyaradzi said the introduction of biofuels would make an impact on the transport industry and improve livelihoods.
He said biofuels were mostly developed in farming and rural areas where they generate jobs for these communities.
“This project will raise the standard of living, create new industry and increase the GDP as outlined by the Zim-Asset,” he said.
Eng Munyaradzi said by coming up with a national policy on biofuels, stakeholders would be able to deal with challenges affecting the industry.
The introduction of biofuels was meant to reduce dependency on imported fossil fuels, reduce fuel price volatility, improve energy security, promote rural development and create employment, he said.
A consultant assisting with the policy formulation, Dr Ephraim Hwingwiri, said the production of biofuels should not affect food production and security.
“There is a lot of land that is not being used for agricultural purposes and can be used to produce biofuel crops such as sugarcane,” he said.
Another consultant, Mr Prosper Mutondi, said the policy should also address issues of pollution and encourage investment in small to medium enterprises.
“Small to medium enterprises should be able to invest in biofuel production (in order) to empower them, especially women,” he said.
COMMENTS
Yes, these Rhodesian ideas and projects were quite good, weren’t they? Like Mkwasine, Katiyo and many others.
But – what happened to the wheat? At one time about 360,000 tons per annum I think? And enough maize to feed the nation?
Ah, I forgot . . . Pamberi ne Zanooooooooo!!!!!!!! (LOL)
What people dont realise is that the raw cost of petrol is about 60c while the ethanol cost is about $1.10. Whilst we save money on imports, govt loses a big amount on duty currently 55c per litre compared to 5c on ethanol. The reduced mileage on blended fuel is about 10% negating any cost saving for the customer
During the Smith Regime the savings would cascade into the main stream economy and provide funding for other necessities, now with Mugabe in place, the savings will find their way into his unfulfilled greedy since 1980. The same greed idiot, destroyed the entire country economic strength through poor policies, economic, political, industrial, monetary and fiscal and educational policies. If Mugabe was a CEO of a company, his shareholdres would have fired him long time ago perhaps in the first vote, 1985 but latest 1990
During the Smith Regime the savings would cascade into the main stream economy and provide funding for other necessities, now with Mugabe in place, the savings will find their way into his unfulfilled greedy since 1980. The same greed idiot, destroyed the entire country economic strength through poor policies, economic, political, industrial, monetary and fiscal and educational policies. If Mugabe was a CEO of a company, his shareholders would have fired him long time ago perhaps in the first vote, 1985 but latest 1990
During the Smith Regime the savings would cascade into the main stream economy and provide funding for other necessities, now with Mugabe in place, the savings will find their way into his unfulfilled greedy since 1980. The same greed idiot, destroyed the entire country economic strength through poor policies, economic, political, industrial, monetary and fiscal and educational policies. If Mugabe was a CEO of a company, his shareholders would have fired him long time ago perhaps in the first vote, 1985 but latest 1990. Zimbabwe is in sorry state because Mugabe destroyed all the survival engines put in place by Smith, mostly the mining, and agricultural sector