Govt tracking and penalizing firms using same tankers to transport fuel, cooking oil —Standards agency

Inspections at companies transporting both fuel and cooking oil have been enhanced to ensure that the firms do not use the same tankers to transport the two commodities, causing dangers to consumers.

Companies which have been found wanting have been fined with hefty penalties, according to the Zambia Compulsory Standards Agency (ZCSA) Domestic Quality Monitoring Inspections Manager, Francis Mwelwa

Mwelwa said at a media engagement in Lusaka recently during the question and answer session that this was the big issue in 2022.

He, however, mentioned that ZCSA had announced that strict measures had been put in place while being reinforced to ensure such undertakings do not happen again in the country.

“That was a very big issue last year but now we have enhanced inspections. We conduct inspections four times in a year and we are enforcing the law. We never thought someone can do that where they register a tanker for edible oil but use it to carry cooking oil, but now we know,” he said.

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Mwewa indicated that when the agency got wind of such undertakings, inspections showed that the tankers were contaminated as smoke with a chemical which caused cancer in consumers was coming out

He however said current inspections had shown that such undertakings were no longer happening.

“Back then we inspected, smoke would come out and that was a chemical which can cause cancer. Now, any oil which we inspect, we never find smoke coming out,” Mwewa said.

At the same workshop, ZCSA acting Import Quality Monitoring Inspections Manager, Kasuba Kasengele, said it was dangerous to mix fuel and cooking oil.

“Just adding on what Mr Mwewa has said in terms of the vessel for carrying fuel and cooking oil, when that happened, that transporter and the company that was concerned, they were penalised and when we intervened, I think it is no longer an issue. It cannot be, you cannot mix those two,”Kasengele said.

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