Minister of Energy, Makozo Chikote, has attributed the shortage of fuel in some parts of the country to transportation challenges faced by Oil Marketing Companies (OMC’s) from the port of Beira in Mozambique.
Mr. Chikote says Zimbabwe, which is the main transit country of fuel from Beira, has imposed a transit deposit fee of $22,000 to $30,000 per truck.
He said that this has lead OMC’s to re-route their transportation and use the Chanida boarder in Katete district of Eastern Province which is 400Km longer than the Zimbabwe route.
Speaking when he delivered a Ministerial statement on the Erratic Supply of fuel in the National Assembly today, Mr. Chikote said that this has caused delays of fuel from Beira to Zambia.
“The other reason is that there was a delayed vessel carrying petroleum products that later caused congestion when loading trucks at the port of Beira,” said Mr. Chikote.
He said that government through the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) is engaging all stakeholders to ensure bottlenecks involved in the transportation of fuel are addressed.
Angel Kasabo
