Don’t keep fuel in homes—minister

Minister of Energy Ibrahim Matola has warned Malawians against keeping fuel in their homes, saying the practice is risky and against the law.

He said this on Thursday in Mangochi when he visited some service stations in the Eastern Region amid rumours that fuel will be scarce these coming days.

In an interview later, Matola dispelled fears of fuel scarcity in the country, and warned Malawians against keeping the inflammable liquid in their homes.

Advised the minister: “Don’t buy and keep fuel in your homes because it is dangerous. Fuel is highly inflammable and can cause accident.”

Matola assured Malawians that government is committed to ensuring that all service stations are stocked with fuel to help essential services in the country run without interruptions.

“We have hospitals, companies, businesses and other amenities which are depending on fuel. As government, we remain steadfast to ensuring that we have enough fuel to have uninterrupted operations,” he said.

In her remarks, Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) consumer affairs and public relations manager Fitina Khonje asked Malawians to understand the order and the authority’s stand on buying fuel in containers, saying the aim is to protect fuel users.

“We noted with growing concern that there has been careless keeping of fuel in homes due to unprocedural buying of fuel. Now, as a fuel regulator, we decided to come up with some regulations to control and protect lives,” she said.

Khonje, therefore, clarified that people can use containers to buy fuel, but it should not exceed 20 litres.

“If they want to buy more than 20 litres, we are asking them to fill a form and explain their reasons,” she said.