Malawi is on the verge of a fuel crisis following the ongoing strike by truck drivers in the country.
During a spot-check conducted in Lilongwe on Wednesday, fuel attendants at some Total and Puma filling stations told us that if the strike persisted in the next 48 hours, their tanks would be dry by Friday.
In Mangochi and Dedza districts some filling stations have also run out of fuel and people are panicking, and some are resorting to fetch on the black market.
Reacting to the development, Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) said Malawians should not panic claiming the country has enough fuel on reserve.
“Mera would like to assure the general public that there are sufficient fuel stocks in the country. There are a total of 22 million and 32 million litres of petrol and diesel, respectively.
These volumes translate into 28-days stock cover and 54-days stock cover for petrol and diesel, respectively,” said Mera in a statement posted on its Chief Executive Officer’s facebook page Henry Kachaje.
Meanwhile, Authorities are making every effort to address the fuel stockouts experienced at some retail stations that have been caused by the drivers’ strike.
How can people not panic when there is nothing in the petrol stations? Instead of wasting time giving lectures, all he should have done was to get moving so that the panicking shouldn’t even be there. Mind you, the reserve fuel they are beating drums for is what DPP collected. They have come in and within 12 months fuel contracts have been distorted, the fuel itself runs dry in all the outlets. Is there anything good this government will accomplish?