Kitwe experiencing near standstill, as motorists reportedly embark on fruitless chase for petrol

Shortage of petrol has entered day seven in Kitwe and the surrounding areas with motorists making fruitless chase for the commodity.

A check at most fuel stations on Wednesday by Zambia Monitor indicated a serious shortage of petrol.

“We are fatigued with this fuel issue, there was no petrol in town, yesterday (Tuesday ). I spent the whole day chasing for petrol without making any trip,” a frustrated min-bus driver, Abraham Bwembya, stated in an interview in Kitwe.

In Lusaka some filling stations have reportedly runout of fuel.

A spot check on Wednesday in Lusaka established that some filling stations had not had any stocks of both diesel and petrol from last week.

Among the affected filling stations are Total Energies and Rubis filling stations, along Alick Nkhata road and Total and Puma filling stations, along Kabulonga road.

Read more : chingola-chamber-fears-kwacha-depreciation-will-cancel-benefits-from-low-fuel-pump-price

But the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) in a statement by Public Relations Manager, Namukolo Kasumpa, on Wednesday assured that it was doing everything possible to normalise the situation.

“To normalise supply, the ERB is undertaking routine fuel stocks monitoring working in collaboration with TAZAMA, Indeni and Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs),” Kasumpa said.

She said the observed pockets of fuel outages at selected filling stations had been attributed to logistical challenges by OMCs.

“We would also like to note that we have received reports from OMCs who have had import challenges related to the scarcity of foreign exchange on the market coupled with the depreciation of the Kwacha,” Kasumpa said.

WARNING! All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.