FUEL retailers could be hoarding fuel for speculative
purposes or diverting the commodity to either the black market or service
stations that sell in foreign currency amid revelations they drew down in
excess of 31 million litres from the National Oil Infrastructure Company of
Zimbabwe (NOIC) in the seven days to February 27, it has been learnt.
On average, the companies accessed 4,4 million litres per
day between February 20 and February 27, against a daily demand of five million
litres for both petrol and diesel, raising concern that the situation on the
ground reflected severe shortages but supplies had improved significantly.
A series of emergency inter-agency meetings involving the
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), the
Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra), Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority
(Zera), Special Anti-Corruption Unit in the Office of the President and Cabinet
(SACU) and NOIC were held yesterday to get to the bottom of the shortages.
NOIC said yesterday it was “surprised” by the obtaining acute
fuel shortages, particularly at a time when it had ramped up supplies.
SACU head Mr Tabani Mpofu has since written to the Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) indicating that from the available evidence,
it was “reasonable” to infer that “the shortage has been caused by acts of
corruption perpetrated by fuel suppliers seeking to profiteer”.
“The fuel situation in the market remains dire; there being
no evidence of any impact in the market of the significant quantities of fuel
that have been disbursed to retailers according to NOIC figures.
“Most service stations throughout the country are not
retailing fuel, with a few that are doing so experiencing long, winding queues
of motorists seeking the commodity,” read part of the letter gleaned by The
Sunday Mail.
“In the absence of a solid explanation based on evidence,
the only reasonable inference to be drawn from the status quo in the fuel
market is that the shortage has been caused by acts of corruption perpetrated
by fuel suppliers to profiteer.”
There is a real possibility that actors in the fuel supply
chain, he added, are colluding to create artificial shortages that are
detrimental to the economy and the country’s stability.
The letter was copied to the Chief Secretary to the
President and Cabinet, Dr Misheck Sibanda; Secretary for Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs, Mrs Virginia Mabiza; National Prosecuting Authority
(NPA) Prosecutor-General Mr Kumbirai Hodzi; and ZRP Commissioner-General Godwin
Matanga.
Motorists are spending hours in fuel queues for a chance to
access fuel.
NOIC chair Engineer Mckenzie Ncube told The Sunday Mail
that Government wanted to establish the real cause of the problem.
“We are trying to put a finger as to where the problem is;
we want the real cause of the fuel shortages, whether it is sabotage or someone
is trying to play games,” he said.
Statistics obtained from NOIC show that on February 20
2020, fuel retailers collected 1,7 million litres of petrol and 2,6 million
litres of diesel, while on February 21 2020, 5,2 million litres of both petrol
and diesel were released onto the market.
On February 27, fuel retailers also drew down 4,9 million
litres.Cumulatively, the figures adds up to 31,4 million litres in
the seven-day period.
Comparatively, for the seven days between February 10 2020
and February 16 2020, retailers accessed 22,5 million litres of fuel, which is
8,9 million litres less than the quantity accessed last week.
Some industry players believe some retailers authorised to
sell in foreign currency may be opening up opportunities for arbitrage.
There is an ongoing push from some quarters to scrap the
dispensation, which was designed to improve fuel supplies through allowing
operators with access to free funds to bring in their own fuel and sell in
forex.
There are questions whether Zera has robust monitoring
mechanisms to ensure that fuel accessed from NOIC is not sold in foreign
currency.
Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi could
not comment as he referred questions to Zera acting chief executive Mr
Eddington Mazambani, who did not respond to several phone calls since Friday.
Local fuel shortages come at a time when petrol prices were
upwardly reviewed by 12 cents to $18,40, while diesel prices dropped by $2,27
to $17,28 per litre.
Petrol, however, is retailing between US$1,20 and US$1,25
on the black market.
Global oil prices were poised to fall to below US$50 a
barrel — the lowest in four years — as global trade slows down owing to the
spread of the deadly coronavirus disease.
Indigenous Petroleum Association of Zimbabwe (IPAZ) chair
Mr Aaron Chinhara said he no longer talked to the media as they were all
“captured”. Sunday Mail
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