Gwanda fuel price exposes fuel import scam

The ridiculously low fuel price charged at a Gwanda filling station first exposed by Bulawayo24 news has led to an exposure of a massive fuel smuggling fraud reaching millions of dollars.

A local fuel importer Glow Petroleum is reported to have imported 37 million litres of fuel for resale falsely declaring it to be for the Zimbabwe Defence Forces there by evading customs duty. Having avoided duty the firm was affording to retail its fuel for as low as $1.32 per liter of petrol and $1.18 for diesel prices way below what other filling stations charge.

The average fuel price in the country is $1.50 for petrol and $1.38 for diesel. The price that Glow Petroleum is charging is even below the average regional price something that raised eyebrows leading to the exposé.

The director of the company Aaron Chinhara is reportedly on the run from the police who are kin to interview him on the smuggling charges. Reports made available to Bulawayo 24 indicate that some very senior government officials are involved in the scam. Former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono's name is high on the list including that of Transport Minister Obert Mpofu and high ranking army and government officials.

A quick check at the Glow Petroleum Gwanda Filling Station this morning showed that the filling station had still not changed its prices but some pumps had dried out. A staff member on site refused to comment but indicated that some staff members had been since been relieved of their duties following the exposé