The Secretary to the Cabinet says the high cost of fuel is unjustifed because Zambia has its own petroluem refinery.
Evans Chibiliti said there is need to investigate and review the entire costing mechanism of petroluem products.
Mr. Chibilit said it is unacceptable that Zambia is among nations with the high cost of fuel in the region when the country has its own refinery.
He ruled out possibilities of leakages on Tazama pipeline being one of the major contributing factors to the high cost of fuel.
The secretary to the treasury who is on a familiarization tour of TAZAMA pipeline facilities said he is glad that the pipeline is currently operating efficiently after the completion of the rehabilitation exercise.
He was speaking to Journalists after inspecting the Chinsala TAZAMA pipeline sub station.
You are right Mr.Chibiliti although you should know that the cost has been rising everywhere. For Zambia justifiably so, we are thankful for the thoughtful and great investment in TAZAMA pipeline that KK came up with decades before, otherwise it could have been worse for Zambia in this current turbulent times. My question for Mr. Chibiliti and govt is WHERE IS OUR OIL from N.West?
Yes the fuel crisis is universal and the Americans are responsible for this fiasco. How come they’re still paying as little as 85 cents per litre? That’s because they know they have enough reservoirs even when all oil wells in the world run dry.
I agree with Number 1. The price of oil has risen and will rise further until the end of the year when the price of this commodity is expected to fall. In the case of Zambia we need to examine the contracts in place to purchase crude oil which is pumped through Tazama pipelines. Who are the suppliers? Are we still using middlemen? Have we negotiated the price well. These are some questions that we need to ask. How efficient is Indeni Refinery? Perhaps its time for regional corporation-let us have an alliance with Angola and jointly invest in a refinery which can process Angolan Oil as Indeni cannot. Perhaps then the price of fuel for the end user will be affordable.
Zambia have the capacity to open up the Angola market and get the crude from their it could so cheap than using the pipeline and the ever problematic indeni.There is no political will and sence of agency, i wonder how wil would have been if KK had not been concerned and built these infrasture we all still and shall continue to use for a very long time to come.
What to be honestly has the MMD in the almost 20yeras they will be in power have done????? zero
but they cant even manage UNZA,RAIL SYSTEM is collapsing, mines investors are enjoying they sold ZA, which BA KK had managed to build in 28 years. 20years wasted wasted, VIVA HH!
No 2, you are partially right the invasion of Iraq is partly responsible for the current fiasco but also the increased world demand from China, India and alternative energy sources being propounded have helped push oil prices up. You are however, not correct to say that prices in the U.S. are 85 cents a litter. The average price is $3.79 and is hitting $4.00 in some states. This is too much a burden considering that it used to be just over a dollar about three years ago.
I agree with #3 and #4 on Angola. We could build another pipeline from Angola to Zambia. This though costly will be the best alternative for Zambia. Critics may argue that the project wouldn’t be feasible and would be too expensive. This has been the problem of our leadership for decades. Suppose KK had said it was unattainable in the ’70s to build TAZAMA and that it was too expensive, could we have had what we have now? The same excuses are given not to build sports infrastructure and this has made us remain behind and will have to pay dearly for it when we finally wake up. Planning in our nation has always been a let down.
How did evans get the post of secretary to the cabinet when he cant even understand simple EC115.zambia does not produce oil and the world price is at over $120 a barrel, we have seen a n increase of over 50% in less than a year and this dude has the nerve to ask why fuel prices are increasing in zambia like a refinery is an oil well. these are the stone throwers from UNZA that end up in high offices and the brain is still at “workers” in a drum of chibuku!!!!!!!!
$0.85 could be close to what Americans pay, comparably New Zealand petrol costs NZ$1.96/litre but I am sure Americans are still complaining and Obama could just be their saviour. Zed need to invest in the use of bio fuels; let’s power our transport and process engines with bio diesel. The onus is upon scientists and engineers to promote bio fuel production and redesign those engines (I’m ready), and politicians (MPs) to support higher budgetary locations to universities and research centres. And I also agree on the use of Angolan crude oil but not to transport it by a pipeline but rail line.
Ba Chamboli, in the U.S, the $3.79 to $4.00 now is not per litre, but per gallon; though their gallon is note a ‘meda’ 5litres, but 3.78 litres.This would thus make it about $1.03/litre on average.
in # 9, I meant “not” and not “note”.
so he never realised until now
Mr Chibiliti the price of crude oil is now $125.00 per barrel so that should answer why the cost of fuel is high.
# 8 very thoughtful of you the idea of using bio fuels, but Zed does not make any engines or machinery so even if we invent the best bio fuel technology Zambians wont benefit since all the equipment is on fossil fuel. Angola is a member of OPEC so the cost of crude oil is still $ 125.00 per barrel there as well. Zambia just needs an energy conserving attitude, the increased use of public transport, reduce on aimless movements small things like that will go along way
Boss ba chibiliti, the reason Zambia’s fuel is high maybe we have too many procurement agents and our transportation costs are high. I dont see how RSA can import oil from the middle east same as Zed yet the pay less than Zambians are paying.Zambia is somehow incurring extra costs along the way. So ba boss it is not just a question of having a refinery
Do you really think that Zambia should be immune from high oil prices??…as of yesterday the price hit $129 a barrel!!!..In the UK we are paying £1.13 a litre (K7608.90)…not sure what you guys are paying..but the bottom line is if you want to drive or run machinery..then you should pay or park it!!!!
In sudan cost of a litre is 1SDP about 50c USD, while in kenya its KSH95 about a dollar and half. We pay so much Evans as we also have to transport the commodity from port to Ndola. and include Road tax on our fuel prices by your Govt, scarp that road tax from fuel then we will pay less, we pay more in the all COMESA REGION.KAYA!
Just dissolve ERB you chaps.it’s very toothless.
Even if Chibiliti speaks (i dont even know where the hell he came from), Maureen and Levi are benefiting from the high prices and they will remain high
Janjaweed [7], I don’t think the Secretary to the Treasury is too daft not to realise the exogenous factors associated with the price of fuel. I think the issue is the high overhead costs which we can have control over. I personally hold the man in such high esteem and find it demeaning to ask if he did EC110. Despite the high cost of fuel, we can do our part and reduce on middlemen and other unnecessary costs as Chimwemwe [13] has pointed out.
ERB,their existence is a big cost to the economy.I mean they have failed to properly regulate the industry,there is no way fuel is almost two or three times cheaper in neighboring countries.Our tax regime is also to blame to a great extent coz when u add up the excise duty & VAT it probably would add to over 50%.
Why does everyone on this blog miss so obvious a point that Mr Chibiliti is putting across. You all seem to be very intelligent people. Now can anyone of you geniuses on this blog explain to me how the following countries: Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Malawi have lower pump prices (sometimes half of those in Zambia)?. This is despite the fact that Zambia has an Oil refinery and all these other countries dont refine their own crude? They import refined oil products. This is the gist of Mr Chibiliti’s statement.
Suddenly one has become intelligent and noted hipcups in his fuel management system
I am yet to see the current Zambian Government come up with a genius mega structure after KK’s fill but at least multi-million mega structures i.e modern structure of Universities, Hospitals, airports, stadiums etc. Call me dull but one definitely wonders were all that copper money and all and all goes too…Oh i know to create shot solutions to long term problem after all I still wont be president when hell brakes loose. Mwanawasa please leave a “MARK” people of the world will leave to remember you for as once president of Zambia
#15 u are informed well bout sudan, where are you at?from my name you can guess where i am.!it is actually 1SDG(not SDP) for diesel and 1.45 SDG for petrol which is really affordable .
#18 . true there are other factors outside the exogenous costs but still it was stupid statement when we look at the condition of the refinery in our country. so for him to give having a refinery as an answer to cheap fuel is daft.very daft.
but why the defence , he butters your bread?
It would be great if the powers that be also would regularly log in to these blogs & just get some ideas from the cross section opinions.This is great stuff!!
# 22, I second your motion.
#9, You are right, thanks, I forgot to qualify with “a gallon.”
fuel and food have increased world wide. its not fan. In Egypt pipo were killed coz of the increase of bread price. SADC had a meeting about this but all in vain. we are all crying RSA diesel is about Rands close to 450 kwacha per litre whilst the price of diesel in Zambia is about K6430…not fair at all what wrong are we doing kansi pa Zambia. do we need new brooms?
A few comments from me about this issue.Apart from the oil producing countries themselves, with the curious exception of Nigeria, virtually all countries are experiencing unprecedented spikes in fuel prices.The problem has nothing to do with internal processing dynamics (Indeni) or middle men.Angola is part of OPEC, they will not set a separate preferential price to help a neighbouring country, infact Angola as a country does not sell any crude oil, their crude is marketed by the foreign oil companies that drill the oil, the same way that Zambia now does not sell any copper as it is all mined by private concerns. But what no one has mentioned here so far, and which Mr. Chibility must…
answer is that we know that the bulk of our domestic pump price is GRZ tax; duty, VAT, excecise tax and now fuel levy. All these are lumped onto the final price that you and me stump out at the pump. Cant govt temporarily suspend or reduce some of these taxes to help the nation cope with the prices? Forget building new pipelines and refineries they will not impact pricing in the manner being proposed here
Chibiliti he ask a foolish question, he get a wise answer.
It is the golden rule in operation here – he who has the gold rules.
The Arabs have been controlling the supply of ze black gold since the formation of OPEC in 1973 and the current rise is just a small display to remind the Americans as they change guard about who exactly rules who. The greed of western middlemen and oil refining giants such as BP has slowed down the translation of alternative modes of transportation which are not petroleum based.
#12 don’t discourage my ideas and it looks like you are out of date with reality. Fosil fuels will not be there forever but farmers never stop grower canola flower, rapeseed or soyabean to make biodiesel. FYI, New Zealand (NZ) commuter buses run on diesel bled with biodiesel, yet NZ don’t make engines or machinery and close to home lumwana mine management in Solwezi have started growing biofuel crops for the same reason. One of the reasons our fuel is the most expensive in the region is too many middle men (I disagree with #28)and transportation costs. And note #28, it’s not only now but for a long time now, don’t hide in globe trends. I urge zedians to hold peaceful demos about it bec
KK was a strategist, a man with vision. He could see things that others couldn’t. MMD needed to just add a few things to what KK did, and everyone would have been happy. Its not only fuel prices, in Zambia we live for the day. No planning, no ‘what if analyses’ despite being a land locked nation. Blessed with 40% of water in Southern Africa, we cannot even manage to produce energy for a pautry 12Million people. We are better off living an uncivilised lifestyle because we do not understand that the alternative life style aught to be ‘Engineered’ with a view to making lives better. So talk the talk, others are walking it; tuli ba Kolwe bampanga!!
The vision KK had for this country never cease to amaze me. Imagine if he had no built the pipeline.what makes my heart bleed is the MMD which apparently doesn’nt know why they are in govt.Take for instance chiluba,instead of continuing on where kaunda left,hewillfully chose to plunder our economy with foreign congolese.I really doubt if Chiluba is zambian ’cause he never exhibited any zambianness during his presidency let alone leave any good mark that could be attributed to him except PLUNDER.Shame on HIM!!!
zambins is it normal to be buying 1kg sugar at K10 000 = 00?
LT, Chibiliti is not Secretary to Cabinet. That aside, Mr. Chibiliti is wasting govt money on these tours. He must familiarise himself with the cost of crude oil. Oil is costing more everywhere in the world. He must ask himself how much per barrel cost 2 years ago and that will answer his question. What is Chibiliti going to about it? America, Germany, Britain, China have failed to reduce or even convince the Arab world to up their output of oil, what will this village economist do that will convince the Arabs that Zambia needs more oil to reduce their prices? Chibiliti, make your money exit. Don’t give ppl false hopes that you will do something about the crises. It is worldwide sir!
#2 (Nine Chale), I am a Zambian living in America and fully aware that your thinking is purely irrational and lacks clear understanding of the law of demand and supply affecting world economies. To some extent you sound like one just perpetrating Chibiliti incompetence. In Amerioa I am paying well over US$1.05 per liter of gas. Can you imagine the entire Secretary to the Cabinet parading his ignorance about why the price of gas should be lower than it is by virtue of having that oil refinery in Ndola. In addition, what a complete waste of public funds for him to undertake a tour of the pipeline. Just typical of Zambian civil servants insatiable desire for undeserved allowances.
Zambia has high fuel prices due to inefficiency in the supply chain. All of SADC use the ‘Import Parity’ formula but Zambia is the most expensive. Taxes and levies, yes but Indeni is the main reason fuel is more expensive in Zambia. 😮