THE fuel supply situation in the country has stabilised
after local petroleum giant — Sakunda Holdings — and its partners, last week
provided Government with 100 million litres of fuel, which will only be paid
for after 12 months.
This comes amid revelations that to ensure adequate fuel
supplies over the next 18 months, Government and Sakunda are finalising a deal
that will see the latter supplying the country with 1,6 billion litres of fuel.
Independent Petroleum Group (IPG), Glencore, Engen and
Total have also chipped-in and are working on various structures with the
Government.
Energy and Power Development Minister Dr Joram Gumbo
yesterday said the improvement in fuel supplies came after the intervention of
major companies.
“The fuel situation is stabilising and we hope that we
continue on this path,” he said.
“As Government, we have put in place some mitigatory
measures and these mainly include a facility we are concluding with Sakunda and
its partner Trafigura. The deal is already in motion and it will stand for the
next 12 to 18 months. The draw down began last week and we were given 100
million litres upfront and it is one of the facilities that have resulted in
the stabilisation being witnessed. We will be getting 50 million litres of fuel
a week from that deal.”
“To cover the gap left by Sakunda, there is the IPG deal,
which became operational end of last week where we will be getting about 20
million litres per month . There are also other players, which are giving us
their facilities for example Engen and Total have also come up with their
facilities. The market is liberal and we urge those with similar facilities to
come forward and present them to us. We welcome them.”
A survey by The Herald yesterday showed that queues had
disappeared at most service stations and fuel was available.
Experts yesterday said structures like the one sealed with
Sakunda will give Government ample time to rebuild its export receivables over
the next 18 months and cover the loans.
They said the intervention by Trafigura also showed the
confidence the international community had in Zimbabwe in terms of debt
repayment.
According to documents in our possession, Government will
only pay for the 100 million litres provided by Sakunda and Trafigura upfront
after a year.
When its starts repaying the loan, Government will be
parting with $5 million a week and this means the repayment period will stretch
for 20 weeks.
Documents show that on the 1,6 billion litres to be
supplied over 18 months, Government will avail foreign currency to Trafigura
for 50 percent of what the international company would have sold into the
market.
The balance will be paid after the consumption period. On
all the structures, Sakunda will be servicing its own customers as agreed to
with Government and allows other oil marketing companies to come in.
Dr Gumbo appealed to the public not to hoard fuel. “My
appeal is for the people to let us down buy hording, panic buying and charging
high prices,” he said.
“Prices have remained the same and no one should charge in
US dollars. We are grateful for the intervention that has come from fuel
companies. It is something that has taken away pressure from Government and
provided relief to our people, the industry, mining, agriculture and other
users of this precious liquid.” Herald
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