Small fuel companies are now allowed to import fuel after
the High Court on Wednesday overturned the decision by the Zimbabwe Energy
Regulatory Authority (Zera) to issue import licences to only eight major fuel
companies.
The small companies each have less than 15 service stations
and the main reason why they were excluded was that their fuel was unlikely to
have major impact on national supplies.
Zera allowed Total Zimbabwe, Glow Petroleum, Ram Petroleum,
Genesis Energy, Vivo Energy, Zuva Petroleum, Sakunda Petroleum and Redan
Petroleum to import fuel directly, but instructed the Zimbabwe Revenue
Authority (Zimra) to bar any other fuel imports.
Aggrieved by the Zera directive, Direct Fuel Imports (DFI)
Group Zimbabwe and Indigenous Petroleum Association of Zimbabwe (IPAZ),
approached the High Court suing Zera and Energy and Power Development Minister
Fortune Chasi over the licensing of fuel importers.
They sought to suspend the Zera notice and review of the
licensing process, which they argued was veiled in secrecy and promoted
monopolistic tendencies in the fuel retail sector.
Justice Tawanda Chitapi granted the DFI Group and IPAZ a
provisional order allowing them to bring in their consignments pending the
finalisation of the matter.
The members of the two groups can now temporarily use their
2019 licences to bring in fuel. The judge said the full reasons for the
judgment will be availed in due course.
Early this year, Zera issued fuel import licences to major
fuel companies, which incensed the DFI Group whose members were left out.
Through its lawyer, Mr Frank Nyangani, the DFI Group’s
contention was that the proposed licensing requirements were discriminatory
against smaller indigenous players in the petroleum sector, which had potential
to create a dangerous monopoly in the industry contrary to Zera’s mandate of
promoting “effective competition between persons engaged in the petroleum
industry”.
Zera, which was being represented by Sawyer and Mkushi law
firm, argued that the fuel dealers excluded in this case had failed to meet the
set requirements, especially the need to have at least 15 retail service
stations.
The requirement came due to growing applications for import
licences when they did not have retail sites or retail licences. There were
fears that smaller companies were feeding the black market.
Minister Chasi, who was represented by the civil division
in the Attorney-General’s Office, submitted that Government wanted to bring
order to the sector, which has failed to satisfy the demand for fuel. Herald
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