Zim fuel price blow
HARARE - Zimbabwe’s petrol price, which currently stands at $1.38/litre for petrol, is the highest in the region contrary to claims by Energy and Power Development minister Joram Gumbo.
Gumbo claimed in an interview with a local daily this week that foreigners in transit are refuelling in Zimbabwe because the local petrol price is lower than that obtaining in most countries in the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) region.
“Our price is quite lower than in other countries in the region so they fill up in Zimbabwe while in transit,” the Energy and Power Development minister was quoted as saying.
But according to a survey of Sadc countries (excluding Zambia) by Wheels 24, a section of News24.com, an English-language South African online news publication, the Zimbabwean petrol price is the highest in the region.
The survey by the online news publication reveals that the price of fuel in oil-producing Angola, where motorists pay $0,52/litre, is the lowest in the region.
Elsewhere in the Sadc region, motorists are paying $0,87 in Botswana and Lesotho; $0,92 in in Swaziland and $0,93 in Namibia.
Of all the countries surveyed, Zimbabwe, at $1,38/litre, has the highest petrol price followed by Mozambique where motorists pay $1,12/litre.
The third highest petrol price is in South Africa where the inland price is $1,04/litre while the coast price is a dollar.
Despite the high fuel prices, fuel shortages still persist.
Gumbo attributed the fuel shortages to scarcity of foreign currency.
He told State media that his ministry has asked the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to review its foreign currency allocation upwards.
“We have enough fuel stocks in the country but sometimes we do not have forex to pay for the fuel. We strike deals with oil companies to deliver a lot of fuel in the country in advance.
“However we can only access that fuel after paying for it and our forex shortages sometimes hinder us from getting your preferred supply. We cannot say there is no fuel because there’s no forex. The fuel is there but the suppliers want forex up front. Our allocation is around $20 million per week for fuel so we receive it from the Reserve Bank. So if we are not allocated that forex, we may delay in accessing fuel.