Malawians may still have to wait longer before the fuel situation normalises as loading and clearance of 125 trucks supposed to haul fuel from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania has stalled since August.
While not being clear on stock levels, apart from assuring that the situation will improve within this week, Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) yesterday said fuel importation is partly being hampered by lack of foreign exchange.
On the ground, motorists continue enduring long queues under scorching sun at service stations despite an assurance from Mera, National Oil Company of Malawi (Nocma) and the Ministry of Energy last month that about 160 million litres of fuel were procured to cover September and October.
In an interview yesterday, Transporters Association of Malawi (TAM) spokesperson Frank Banda said about 125 trucks carrying petrol and diesel are stuck in Dar es Salam.
He said the trucks are waiting for clearance from the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) which requires that fuel suppliers pay tax, but also other travel documents and ensuring that there are tracking gadgets on all vehicles.
Said Banda: “There are 25 trucks already loaded with petrol, but have not been cleared by the TRA. We hope that they will be cleared today [Monday]. We also sent 100 more trucks, whose loading has not been done and these are just waiting because of low stocks.”
A source in the private sector corroborated the situation, saying, there is very little fuel available.
Said the source: “The authorities are banking on Beira in Mozambique where there is 10 million litres of diesel and petrol, but the challenge is that at Beira, loading is on priority basis. So we have trucks from Zambia and Tanzania being loaded.”
Nocma spokesperson Raymond Likambale could not be reached for comment yesterday.
But Mera spokesperson Fitina Khonje admitted that the nation is facing importation challenges.
In a written response, she said: “The country is experiencing fuel supply challenges. However, the country is expecting some more inflows within the week.
“This is still a forex -induced challenge. However, arrangements under G2G and other supply contracts are still in place.”
During a press briefing in Lilongwe on August 29, Mera chief executive officer Henry Kachaje said fuel on open tender system (OTS) was already flowing into the country.
He said: “The country will in a few weeks be receiving a G2G vessel bringing a total of 48 million litres of both petrol and diesel. Additionally, 56 million litres of petrol and 57 million litres of diesel have been secured from OTS suppliers, in total bringing an expected volume of over 160 million litres.”
If the G2G fuel materialises, it will be the second after 50 million litres arrived through Tanga in Tanzania and Nacala in Mozambique in July, comprising 30 million litres of petrol and the rest being diesel.
Nocma and Petroleum Importers Limited are each supposed to import 50 percent of the country’s required volumes, but Nocma has of late been importing about 80 percent of total stocks. Nocma data shows that Malawi uses one million litres for petrol and 850 000 litres of diesel on a daily basis, translating to a combined 55.5 million litres a month.
Malawi spends $600 million (about K1 trillion) on fuel importation per year, according to the Reserve Bank of Malawi. In total, the country needs $3 billion to meet its import requirements against export earnings of $1 billion.
