GOVERNMENT RESPONDS TO FUEL PRICE INCREASESeptember 4, 2023
Government has moved in swiftly to address the fuel price increase mainly influenced by the
volatility in the exchange rate and the price at which oil is selling on the international market.
Director Spokesperson in the Ministry of Information and Media Thabo Kawana says Government has resolved to bring in diesel using the pipeline which will make the commodity more affordable.
Providing an insight of the measures government has put in place to deal with the price increase during a press briefing today, Mr Kawana revealed that government through the Ministry of Energy is looking at three different companies that are using a Drug Reducing Agency (DRA), a drug put in the pipeline inorder to avoid the volumes in the pipeline from becoming volatile.
Mr. Kawana said that this will help increase the volume thereby stabilizing the pipeline and increasing the volume by 20 per cent.
He said the country is currently pumping in diesel at 80 per cent and the intervention will bring it to 100 per cent.
“Once the country is able to pump in diesel at 100 percent, it will stabilize the price of the commodity,” he said.
Mr. Kawana further said that government is in receipt of unsolicited bids to put up another new 24 inch pipeline from Dar es Salaam to Ndola.
He revealed that the new pipeline will have the capacity to carry 4 million metric tons of diesel per annum.
The Director Spokesperson said the new pipeline will be restricted to carrying diesel only while the current one will carry petrol and
kerosene.
He assured citizens that the new pipeline will come online early next year.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kawana said that with improved and increased volumes of finished products, government is working towards increasing storage capacity from the current 3 to 6 months.
“With improved and increased volumes, the review mechanism will then be able to change from the current monthly to about 3 months,” Mr. Kawana said.
He said the country’s storage capacity stands at 3 months but the volume is not enough hence government working towards bringing in the correct volume.
He expressed confidence that government will in the long run put in place measures to ensure that the storage capacity is increased to 6 months.
He said the Mpika depot has been put in place to store fuel for the northern region and beyond thereby improving storage.
And Mr Kawana revealed that the Minister of Energy has prepared a cabinet memo seeking approval to commence ethenol blending.
Once approved, the blended fuel will run as a pilot for 6 months in Lusaka and eventually be rolled out countrywide hence giving motorists cheaper fuel as blended fuel sells cheaper than the unblended one.