News / National
'Ethanol blending benefitting a few,' says Mangoma
30 Mar 2014 at 11:33hrs | Views
FORMER Energy and Power Development minister, Elton Mangoma has said mandatory ethanol blending is shrouded in secrecy, spiced with lies and benefitting a few individuals at the expense of ordinary Zimbabweans.
Government introduced mandatory blending last year starting at E5 (5% ethanol and 95% petrol). It said blending was encapsulated in the energy policy meant to reduce dependency on imported fuel, enhance security of supply and create employment, among others.
The mandatory blending doubled to 10% before being increased to 15%. It was cut back to 10% after the sole ethanol provider in the country, Green Fuel failed to meet the demands of the market.
Speaking a stakeholders' meeting convened by the Employers' Confederation of Zimbabwe (Emcoz) on Friday, Mangoma said mandatory blending was "surrounded with controversy, lies and conjecture, with many trying to hide the facts as far as possible".
"You are taking money from public pockets and putting it into someone else's pocket," he said. "This means that you cannot let an individual benefit by forcing people to buy a product that has failed to find traction on the market."
Billy Rautenbach controls Green Fuel through his companies Macdom and Ratings.
A growing number of motorists have said blended fuel is damaging vehicles that are not compatible with such fuel. They say blended fuel should be available as an alternative to fossil fuels and consumers must be allowed to make choices.
Blended fuel has also brought an extra cost as ethanol has a lower calorific value as compared to petrol.
The calorific value is the power one gets from either petrol or ethanol. For instance, 10 litres of ethanol is equivalent to 7, 2 litres of petrol.
"You bring pain to the villagers and motorists so that a few producers of ethanol are happy," Mangoma said. "Green Fuel said it would bring catalytic convertors. It never brought them."
Government introduced mandatory blending last year starting at E5 (5% ethanol and 95% petrol). It said blending was encapsulated in the energy policy meant to reduce dependency on imported fuel, enhance security of supply and create employment, among others.
The mandatory blending doubled to 10% before being increased to 15%. It was cut back to 10% after the sole ethanol provider in the country, Green Fuel failed to meet the demands of the market.
Speaking a stakeholders' meeting convened by the Employers' Confederation of Zimbabwe (Emcoz) on Friday, Mangoma said mandatory blending was "surrounded with controversy, lies and conjecture, with many trying to hide the facts as far as possible".
"You are taking money from public pockets and putting it into someone else's pocket," he said. "This means that you cannot let an individual benefit by forcing people to buy a product that has failed to find traction on the market."
Billy Rautenbach controls Green Fuel through his companies Macdom and Ratings.
A growing number of motorists have said blended fuel is damaging vehicles that are not compatible with such fuel. They say blended fuel should be available as an alternative to fossil fuels and consumers must be allowed to make choices.
Blended fuel has also brought an extra cost as ethanol has a lower calorific value as compared to petrol.
The calorific value is the power one gets from either petrol or ethanol. For instance, 10 litres of ethanol is equivalent to 7, 2 litres of petrol.
"You bring pain to the villagers and motorists so that a few producers of ethanol are happy," Mangoma said. "Green Fuel said it would bring catalytic convertors. It never brought them."
Source - thestandard
