Sporadic fuel scarcity resurfaces
Sporadic fuel scarcity has resurfaced in some parts of the country and Blantyre has been hit hard.
Motorists are spending long hours on queues to fill their vehicles’ tanks.
In some instances, police officers are having running battles with vendors who crowd filling stations with jerry cans in order to buy the fuel and resell it twice or thrice the recommended price.
There has been no comment from the National Oil Company of Malawi (Nocma) and Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) on the cause of the current sporadic scarcity of the fuel.
However, some people say it is due to continued scarcity of forex.
The Center for Social Accountability and Transparency (CSAT) governance analyst is demanding daily updates from the authorities on the fuel situation that has reached crisis levels across the country.
Unlike the past weeks where diesel was in short supply, this time around petrol is now the most sought-after commodity.
This, according to critics, is being aggravated by the authorities’ failure to provide information on when fuel will be available and the efforts that are being put in place to address the crisis.
CSAT Executive Director Willy Kambwandira has underscored the need for the authorities to frequently inform the people as a way of controlling the situation.
