The fuel shortage crisis in the country has entered its second week with no signs of improving as queues have become a new normal in all areas across the country.
During spot-checks in Lilongwe, Blantyre, Dedza and Ntcheu yesterday, we found that petrol continues to be scarce in many filling stations.
In Blantyre and Limbe, we observed long queues at the five filling stations which were selling petrol yesterday.
Despite Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) banning the purchasing of fuel in jerry cans, we observed customers buying fuel in containers ranging from 5 litres to 20 litres at the filling stations where fuel was available.
As an acknowledgement of the crisis, Mera has been releasing daily fuel delivery schedules for all three regions of the country.
Minibus driver Tonny Chisale, who operates on the Chikwawa-Blantyre route, said yesterday that he has failed to conduct business for three days over the past week due to the fuel crisis.
In an interview, Minibus Owners Association (Moam) general secretary Coaxley Kamange said drivers are spending hours at filling stations to scramble for fuel and extra costs are being incurred as vehicles are parked overnight at the filling stations in the hope of accessing fuel the next day.
“My appeal to the relevant authorities is that they are the ones who know the cause of the crisis and they should do what they need to do to normalise fuel supply,” he said.
But in response, Mera consumer affairs and public relations manager Fitina Khonje said stakeholders are working to ensure that the rate of replenishment of stocks should match the rate of fuel consumption and depletion.
She said: “We should, however, not lose sight of the fact that the challenges, forex inclusive, impacting on the flow of supplies transcend efforts of the fuel industry, so there is need for concerted effort.”
National Oil Company of Malawi (Nocma) spokesperson Raymond Likambale said the company continues to import fuel into the country through all major ports.
“On Monday [today], a train carrying two million litres will arrive at Nocma’s Matindi Depot in Blantyre. Trucks also continue to bring in products from all routes,” he said.
Mera has maintained the price of petrol at K2 530 per litre and diesel at K2 734 per litre since November 2023.
In recent months, pressure has been mounting on Mera to raise fuel prices to reflect the realities of landed costs and global fuel prices, and taking into consideration the local currency’s weakness.
The Nation in August reported that fuel importers incurred K785 billion losses following Mera’s failure to adjust fuel prices upwards in line with the cost of bringing the products into the country.
Appearing before the Parliamentary Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises on Thursday in Lilongwe, the authority’s director of finance Zacharia Ng’oma said the Mera board has started reviewing fuel prices.
