By Tione Andsen
Lilongwe, April 5, Mana: Malawian have been assured that fuel price adjustment in the country will not be exorbitant.
Presidential Press Secretary, Anthony Kasunda disclosed this Tuesday at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe during Quarterly State House Brief,
He assured that the much-anticipated fuel price hike would not be as higher as expected from the motorists and the public.
Kasunda said the world over was going through a crisis in fuel pricing due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
“We all know that Russia is one of leading producer of oil and gas, and the impact of their war with Ukraine has affected the production and the delivery of the fuel products on global markets,” he explained.
Kasunda added that fuel price might go up any time soon depending on the decision to be made but the newly appointed Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) Board but would not be as bad as was in neighbouring countries.
“The President was keen to ensure that the fuel price crisis that has hot the world should not have negative impact to Malawians. The President had had meetings with officials from MERA, National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) and Ministry of Finance on how to handle the fuel price crisis in the country,” the Press Secretary said.
He said before the war, the country was able to buy fuel of US$60,000 which was lasting two months but now it is only lasting three weeks.
Kasunda pointed out that the buying power has been drastically reduced on the global market hence the fuel price crisis.
The Press Secretary said government was still keen on the implementation of Afford Input Programme (AIP) saying the effects of climate change has reduced the crop production this year,
He added there need to find better of ensuring that the AIP was sustainable even if the rainfall partner changes
Presidential Advisor on Parliamentary Affairs, Maxwell Thyolera said government has managed to remove Value Added Tax (VAT) on cooking oil and water.
He said the expectation from the government was to ensuring that the producers of cooking oil would be able to reduce the prices of cooking oil in the country.
