BERA quells illegal export of LPG

Following an outcry by dealers in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), the Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority (BERA) has with immediate effect prohibited the exportation of LPG cylinders. According to BERA Engineering Manager Gift Bakumbi, some players in the gas industry have been playing dirty, exporting competitors’ cylinders.

BERA issued a press statement on Friday stating that no person is allowed to export LPG cylinders without acquiring prior authorisation from the authority. “When LPG cylinders are exported, it means the local market experiences a shortage of packaging equipment and therefore reduces access to LPG by the consumers.

This may create an illusion that there is an LPG shortage and drive prices upwards unnecessarily. Further to this, uncontrolled export may lead to uncompetitive behaviours where companies may export their competitors’ cylinders so that they take them out of business,” reads the statement from BERA’s Communications and Marketing Officer.

The pronunciation comes at a time when some dealers have bemoaned that some players in the space were exporting their cylinders to get an unfair advantage. “Since we started as an authority, we have been receiving numerous complaints from players in the LPG industry. In 2019 and 2020, we carried out an LPG market study. We found that there was a problem where a lot of gas cylinders are exported especially to Zimbabwe. Some companies cried foul stating that their competitors export their cylinders so that they can push others out of business,” Bakumbi told The Monitor.

According to BERA, the request for the exportation of cylinders should be accompanied by the following information: the number of cylinders to be exported, the destination country and exit point, serial numbers of all cylinders to be exported, and the condition of the cylinders (whether full or empty, maintainable or out of service etc).

Cylinders should be made available to the authority for inspection; if full, the applicant should possess a valid LPG export licence issued by the authority; reasons for the export; whether permanent or temporary; if temporary, state the intended duration in the destination country; re-entry port during the re-importation; cylinder ownership details; if owned, proof of ownership; if third party cylinders, proof of ownership and owner’s consent; and intended dates of the export. Also, a letter from the LPG Association of Botswana consenting to the export.

According to Bakumbi, individuals can be charged up to P30,000 while corporates will be charged up to 10% of their annual turnover, or imprisonment of five years or both. The authority is mandated with regulating the export of LPG under Section 37 (1) g of the BERA Act. LPG cylinders are used in packaging LPG and uncontrolled export of cylinders could lead to the illegal export of LPG.

Individuals can be charged

up to P30,000 while corporates will be charged up to 10% of their annual

turnover