No fuel, no security, zero leadership

Days have turned into months and months are turning into almost a year since Malawians started spending long hours at fuel stations in search of petrol and diesel, the two commodities that have become so scarce in Malawi, slowing down the economy and in many cases, to a complete halt.

When this crisis started, there a lot of deniers, especially those who see everything with a political lens, were quick to point fingers at their adversaries for lying and blowing things out of proportion, they said. Malawians then were told that the fuel shortage in some parts of the country was sporadic cases and not enough to cause panic—they lied then that the country had plenty of fuel in its fuel reserves and went ahead to blame everyone else but themselves for the long queues.

However, as nights turned into days, it has become more difficult for deniers, political apologists and spinners. They have been left speechless—most of them when you meet them at these long fuel queues, they pretend to be ok, but you can tell they are affected, too.

The fuel crisis has bred insecurity and lawlessness. Vendors have found a lucrative business in all this fuel chaos—they fill up their jerricans with fuel which they later sell on the black market at double the pump price. While gas stations run dry, Malawians are forced to buy fuel on the black market while government and our leaders snore.

This country risks being run by illegal fuel vendors if the government does not rein in the illegal fuel markets which are slowly being normalised because of the government’s failure to find a lasting solution to the fuel woes.

Not only that, people are being attacked as they wait for fuel in these long and snaking queues. Just a few days ago, social media was awash with reports of how people have lost their valuables to thieves who attacked them as they waited for fuel.

All this is because this country is void of leadership. Those entrusted with the responsibility to provide answers and solutions are so cosied up that they pay no attention to the welfare of the people. One wonders what they think as they drive past long fuel queues in fuel-guzzling vehicles. Malawians have been told a number of times that one of the reasons there is a fuel shortage is because the country’s forex reserves are wanting. But then, Malawians every day see their leaders travel abroad with a larger-than-life entourage, spending the little forex with reckless abandon. Almost every day, leaders are travelling domestically to attend events as trivial as opening a new toilet. Chaos and lawlessness often thrive where there is no leadership. Let our leaders show up and fix these problems.