Zimbabwe’s economic crisis clocks a new crescendo with fuel shortage anticipated to persist triggering price increases next week, a development which sent fuel dealers into panic mode with the government suspecting service stations to be holding up their stocks to avoid loses.
Fuel shortage has hit Zimbabwe at a time when business is expected to reach its peak during the festive season month which opens tomorrow, yet, on the ground a different story is taking toll.
263Chat observed that a number of fuel service stations had run dry with the government saying it has employed Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) to establish what is transpiring in the fuel market.
Writing on twitter today deputy minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Energy Mutodi said:
“I’ve spoken to Minister of Finance this morning and he has said at least $10m worth of fuel is being pumped into the market daily. An anticipated rise in fuel prices in the first week of December could be causing some fuel dealers to withhold stocks. ZERA is on the ground monitoring.”
Late October the government and Sakunda Holdings struck a deal to which 100 million litres of fuel payable in a year’s time, a development that eased motorists and business institutions alike.
However, recently, the minister of Energy and Power Development Dr Jorum Gumbo warned that the country stands at a risk of running out through the festive season without fuel.
“If you don’t have to stock your fuel now or hoard fuel now we might not have fuel in the festive season,” he said.
The government is crawling in foreign currency shortages which has negatively impacted on social service delivery with mountain of allegations suggesting key government officials are running a cartel at the central bank.
