Fuel queues resurfaced in Harare, Zimbabwe this week, with several service stations running out of fuel. This brings back memories of the fuel crisis of late 2018 and early 2019.
As the festive season approaches, thousands of Zimbabweans will travel within the country for their vacations.
Daniel Mackenzie Ncube, the board chairperson of the National Oil Company Infrastructure of Zimbabwe, believes the fuel problems originated in Mozambique.
He claimed that the fuel shortages in Zimbabwe were the result of unscheduled maintenance at pumping stations in Mozambique, but that the situation would be resolved in “a day or two.”
He said, “We had a problem in Mozambique where they were maintaining the port so they were not pumping. We have started pumping now. The problem should normalise in a day or two. The scheduling in Mozambique caught us offside when they closed the port for maintenance.”
Ncube added that very little petrol had been stocked before Mozambique closed the port, thus explaining the petrol shortages.
He said: “What we were holding was a bit low because of the pricing of petrol, so the dealers tend to sell each time they get fuel. They put it to the market instead of holding some of it.
“I can’t tell you in terms of numbers, but for a few days we were not pumping but we normally pump around four million a day, but for diesel, we were holding stocks, but for petrol, our stocks were a bit on the low side and that is why they depleted very quickly.
“We have been massaging the problem since last week hoping that it won’t get this far, but fortunately, we are now pumping.”