Govt apologises for weekend fuel procurement boob….as diesel runs dry

The Zimbabwe government has issued an apology after it claims an error led to fuel retailers having inadequate supplies of diesel over the weekend and early Monday morning.

In an apology, via Twitter Sunday, the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting  said the situation has been rectified.

“Govt apologises for the logistical glitch which resulted in fuel retailers ordering more petrol than diesel giving rise to diesel shortages.

“The situation has been attended to and normalcy in the fuel retail sector is expected to have been attained within the next few hours,” it said.

However, the situation on Monday morning painted a different picture, with commuter omnibuses being scarce and motorists queueing for hours to find diesel.

Despite the government’s reassurance the online reaction to this “logistical glitch” was generally of disbelief, with many accusing the government of failing to normalise the fuel supply challenge.

 In early February this year, Energy and Power Development Minister Joram Gumbo said the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe  (RBZ) had made fuel payments “that would cover the next 24 months.”

This was after violent protests took place in mid-January after President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced a 150 percent hike in the price of fuel.

Government had repeatedly stated that there was adequate supplies of fuel blaming the prevalence of fuel queues on increased fuel consumption exacerbated by citizens hoarding  and panic buying.