News / National
Fuel deliveries resume
20 Jan 2019 at 09:17hrs | Views
FUEL deliveries at service stations have resumed after being temporarily halted for about a week owing to the violent protests that rocked the country, a Cabinet Minister has said.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Energy and Power Development Minister Dr Joram Gumbo said oil companies had temporarily stopped delivering fuel at all the country's service stations in fear of having their tanker trucks destroyed by rioters during the terror attacks last week.
Dr Gumbo said there was a need for motorists and the public to understand that fuel supplies were being hampered by the nation's depleted foreign currency coffers.
"Like I have always stated, which people should understand, the issue is not about fuel (shortage), the issue is about forex, so what people must ask themselves is what are we doing to generate forex in the country, so that we can buy the fuel. It is Industry and Commerce and ourselves (Zimbabweans) who must make sure that we export so that we receive forex and the bank can disburse the forex, which now (Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr John) Mangudya cannot because it's not there, so that's where the problem is," he said.
Dr Gumbo also took time to appeal to members of the public to desist from pushing the blame of the country's fuel situation on him and the RBZ, saying they were doing their best to source the precious liquid, albeit in a challenging economic environment.
Meanwhile, the Grain Millers' Association of Zimbabwe has assured the nation that there were adequate supplies of mealie-meal in the country and it intends to flood the market with the product within the next 48 hours.
GMAZ chairperson, Mr Tafadzwa Musarara, said there was an artificial shortage of mealie-meal in retail outlets, as a result of security concerns over last week demonstrations that saw property worth millions of dollars destroyed.
"We have about 7 000 tonnes of maize meal awaiting dispatch. There is no shortage of mealie-meal; there were concerns of security, owing much to the recent demonstrations that saw the destruction of property. There are enough stocks to feed the entire nation and region. We have been assured by the Government that it is now safe and we will therefore act on that word and resume delivering the product.
"We lost $3 million worth of stocks during these demonstrations to hooligans. This was no longer a demonstration but terrorism and this has greatly affected our country. However, as it is our mandate as an association we will make sure that the commodity is available at an affordable price," said Mr Musarara.
He added that they will also make available mobile shops in areas that have properties that were destroyed by hooligans. The Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Bulawayo, Judith Ncube, assured the business people that there was peace in the city and security measures were in place to maintain peace.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Energy and Power Development Minister Dr Joram Gumbo said oil companies had temporarily stopped delivering fuel at all the country's service stations in fear of having their tanker trucks destroyed by rioters during the terror attacks last week.
Dr Gumbo said there was a need for motorists and the public to understand that fuel supplies were being hampered by the nation's depleted foreign currency coffers.
"Like I have always stated, which people should understand, the issue is not about fuel (shortage), the issue is about forex, so what people must ask themselves is what are we doing to generate forex in the country, so that we can buy the fuel. It is Industry and Commerce and ourselves (Zimbabweans) who must make sure that we export so that we receive forex and the bank can disburse the forex, which now (Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr John) Mangudya cannot because it's not there, so that's where the problem is," he said.
Dr Gumbo also took time to appeal to members of the public to desist from pushing the blame of the country's fuel situation on him and the RBZ, saying they were doing their best to source the precious liquid, albeit in a challenging economic environment.
Meanwhile, the Grain Millers' Association of Zimbabwe has assured the nation that there were adequate supplies of mealie-meal in the country and it intends to flood the market with the product within the next 48 hours.
GMAZ chairperson, Mr Tafadzwa Musarara, said there was an artificial shortage of mealie-meal in retail outlets, as a result of security concerns over last week demonstrations that saw property worth millions of dollars destroyed.
"We have about 7 000 tonnes of maize meal awaiting dispatch. There is no shortage of mealie-meal; there were concerns of security, owing much to the recent demonstrations that saw the destruction of property. There are enough stocks to feed the entire nation and region. We have been assured by the Government that it is now safe and we will therefore act on that word and resume delivering the product.
"We lost $3 million worth of stocks during these demonstrations to hooligans. This was no longer a demonstration but terrorism and this has greatly affected our country. However, as it is our mandate as an association we will make sure that the commodity is available at an affordable price," said Mr Musarara.
He added that they will also make available mobile shops in areas that have properties that were destroyed by hooligans. The Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Bulawayo, Judith Ncube, assured the business people that there was peace in the city and security measures were in place to maintain peace.
Source - zimpapers
