FUEL IS UP TO K31.46 — BUT LET US TELL THE TRUTH, IT IS NOT ONLY ZAMBIA
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Authored By; Mupishi Jones
Zambians, let us talk facts, not noise.
ERB has announced new fuel prices effective midnight 30th September 2026:
Petrol: K25.29 → K31.46 (+K6.17)
Diesel: K26.86 → K33.27 (+K6.41)
Kerosene: K27.02 → K29.76
Jet A-1: K28.71 → K31.85
Yes, it is painful. K6 on every litre is not small. But why?
1.GOVERNMENT PROTECTED YOU FOR 6 MONTHS*
From April to September 2026, Government suspended excise duty and zero-rated VAT on fuel.
ERB Chairman James Banda was clear: _”In the absence of these interventions, petroleum prices would have been materially higher.”
Because of that relief, Zambia kept fuel among the lowest in SADC and COMESA even when world prices were rising. Government lost revenue to cushion you.
Finance Minister Dr Musokotwane has now said: we couldn’t sustain tax waivers forever. The Treasury was bleeding.
Excise duty is back from 1st October. VAT comes back 1st December.
That is the main reason for this jump — not politics.
2.THE WORLD IS ON FIRE — NOT ONLY ZAMBIA
Let us be honest, this is not a Zambian problem.
-Global petrol rose from US$104.94 to US$121.58 per barrel, diesel from US$150.92 to US$160.88
-Kwacha slipped from K19.28 to K19.76 to 1 dollar
-Brent crude is above US$100 because of Middle East tensions and Ukraine war
-South Africa next month: petrol going to R30.04 per litre, diesel R33.18 — record highs
-USA: diesel $6.52 a gallon, 47 states record high
-France: 15% of fuel stations ran out of diesel.
From Asia to Europe to Latin America, protests have erupted over fuel. Some countries are rationing fuel.
3.THIS PRESIDENT IS BETTER THAN MOST
Other governments just pushed the price to citizens without relief. In Syria, diesel up 40% caused riots.
Our government did 6 months of tax relief. Even now with K31.46, we are still competitive in the region. Imagine if they had not cushioned us — we would be at K38 or K40.
President HH is even in UAE pushing to scrap monthly price reviews and find a permanent solution with $2.1bn investment talks — no other President in SADC is doing that.
CONCLUSION
Fuel hike is painful, yes. But it is global, it is caused by war, and our government tried to protect us longer than most governments did.
Let us not politicize everything. Let us demand accountability on how the recovered revenue will be used — roads, schools, hospitals.
Is Government right to reinstate excise duty to save the Treasury, or should it have continued the relief?
Mupishi Jones
Political Analyst
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