Zambia will raise fuel prices by up to 13 percent, the energy regulator said on Tuesday, announcing the second big price increase this year in Africa’s biggest copper producer.
The Energy Regulation Board (ERB) said the prices of petrol and diesel had to rise again, following January’s 15 percent increase, due to higher global oil prices.
“As such the government cannot continue to absorb the high costs associated with keeping pump prices artificially low,” the ERB said in a statement.
It said the petrol price would rise by 13.2 percent and the diesel price by 9.5 percent from Wednesday.
Petrol and diesel would now cost more than $1.50 a litre in remote areas, where prices are generally higher than in urban areas.
[Reuters]
WHO CARES??? LET THEM INCREASE EVEN BY 60%. IT DOES NOT MATTER TO THEM!! F.O.O.L.S!!!!!!!!!!
They just increased salaries for Civil Servants by 15% and Hikaumba asked the Civil servants to appreciate! We shall see now how that 15% salary increment will be swallowed up by this 13.2% and 9.5% fuel increase! Work done is equal to zero, back to the same position! It is a failed economic management!!!!!
Quickly catching up with UK prices, too bad
are we being run by serious people?is this a nation or a farm?we must demonstrate about this fuel increament otherwise this country is going no where,its sad that zambians are paying highly for the president’s useless movement all over the world just to sight see.the presidents unwritten spending in Mufumbwe and Milanzi bye elections in billions of kwacha has pushed inflation high causing the kwacha to weaken against the dollar,now fuell is up,in zimbabwe fuell costs 1dollar in zambia 1.50dollars are we normal people to watch things go by?
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has just resigned as Prime Minister. Is it possible for RB to do the same in Zambia??????
This is terible, as usual, the poor are the ones to cushion the pressure. God help us
HELL IS A PLACE IN ZAMBIA
It’s the goverments job to cushion effects of artificial OPEC oil price surges. Wow! May the Lord Jesus bless and protect us. Zambians it’s time for us to wake, demonstrate and change this manner of evil.
Is this the way of regulating energy? I thought it was The Energy Regulating Board, not the Energy Price Anouncing Board. This Board is supposed to be formulating the energy policy for the country not constantly anoouncing price increases. Wait, could be part of policy making – I am sure it fits in somewhere.
April crude price was $86 – $89 per barrel. May price is $73 per barrel. This information is available, the Mines, no windfall tax and they get their fuel from same INDENI but at less than a dollar per litre, ERB is utterly of no use and should have been disbanded.
I’m disappointed in this announcement. Cheap fuel is a key component to development and this move will do nothing but stifle and suffocate us. This government keeps talking about investment, but this move is counter to everything they preach.
If I were in govt I’d make sourcing of a cheap and ready supply of fuel would be a priority.
‘No future no gay rights’ in Zambia
With PF support only for gays, the rights of gay men and women could be denied in Zambia as some political parties have refused to support the legalisation of homosexuality.Both the United Party for National Development (UPND) and the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) have said they cannot back the practice as it goes against their religious beliefs, the Times of Zambia reports.They stated that the country is a Christian nation and therefore the issue had no place in its society.Mike Mulongoti, acting spokesperson for the MMD, said: “Zambia is declared a Christian nation and anything that is unchristian and alien to our society is deemed to be an abomination.”
‘No future no G.a.y.s, rights’ in Zambia
With PF support only for G.a.y.s, the rights of G.a.y.s, men and women could be denied in Zambia as some political parties have refused to support the legalisation of homo***uality.Both the United Party for National Development (UPND) and the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) have said they cannot back the practice as it goes against their religious beliefs, the Times of Zambia reports.They stated that the country is a Christian nation and therefore the issue had no place in its society.Mike Mulongoti, acting spokesperson for the MMD, said: “Zambia is declared a Christian nation and anything that is unchristian and alien to our society is deemed to be an abomination.”
UPND member Charles Kakoma remarked that his party could not back gay rights as the argument has previously been rejected at the National Constitutional Conference.
It was recently reported that conditions in Zambia’s jails are unbearable and even life-threatening, following the findings of the Unjust and Unhealthy: HIV, TB and Abuse in Zambian Prisons review.
Written by Simon Bassett
Number 13 Are your comments inline with what is on the page?
The issue of fuel please Mr President and Mr Minister responsible can review the prices.Minister Konga drives using tax payers money but civil servants todate have not gotten thier salaries.A police officer gets K830.000.00 after deductions and you expect corruption to finish?You must be joking
#13 take it somewhere else, okay. That subject is getting old.
As for fuel hikes, let’s go bio-fuel and make our own gas. That jathropa plant grows wild all over Zambia and there’s enough intelligence out there to make it work. We only have ourselves to blame for not using what God has freely given us. Ulesi nio yipa.
I think it is high time the workers changes who represents them at the union. Otherwise they will always be overlooked. Just imagine they have their salaries increased by 2%. They have been cheated over the 15%. Government will recover its 13% from the fuel as we are all aware that an increase in fuel results in the rise of prices of goods on the market so the workers will be taking nothing home.
ENERGY REGULATION BOARD = MARUBBISH
If what No10 is saying is correct, then I will call this increase as daylight robbery. This government is a joke. I wonder why they can’t be like Gordon Brown who takes the blame and resigns. THESE PEOPLE STINK.
And in the meantime ZESCO is in the wings waiting to push up prices by 36%. Where is this country going to?
Where is Rupiah’s Pitbull on LT Senior Citizen aka Veteran? Zesco is increasing its prices by 36%.
ERB increased fuel by 15% in January thats 4 months ago and now 13.2%.
Some cadre is screaming Zambia is on the right path of economic recovery plz come 2011[-o<[-o<[-o<[-o<[-o<
If I was paid to run this country into the ground I would do the exact same things: buy fuel from the most expensive sources around, use the most inefficient and expensive process to refine it and create as few jobs as possible while chocking those with jobs with high taxes.
Imwe bantu these f-o-o-l-s have done exactly the same as they did to the so called corbom emmition tax.Have they enforced it after they stole the first quarter collection?F-O-O-L-I-S-H thinking BA K-O-L-W-E. Kuya bebele come 2011 with or without your master planner and CROOK VJ
Iye! Twafwa! Each time fuel prices go up every other commodity has it’s price raised.. cost of living goes up whilst our shabby salaries are hardly ever revised upwards (& if ever done they’re only raised by impertinent figures)!
we are doomed, i tell you.. DOOMED!
Fundraising through commodity price increment is criminal. Involve consumers before you increase fuel, water and electricity. This country is managed by ruthless leaders. How can someone in Kasama buy a liter of gas at almost ZMK9000-00? This is wicked. Mines are reaping from good metal prices, oil is not getting expensive on the global market. Zambians are paying way too much, seriously.
Who would stop people from trying another party to run the country. Why use expensive means to import oil crude products?
Crude oil prices have been going up on the world market so it is impossible for Zambian fuel prices to remain static. In teh UK, fuel prices change any time any day at filling stations. The prices have been going up for some month now.
May be in Zambia, we should also allow fuel prices to adjust on a daily basis so that people get used. This periodic adjustments tend to shock people. it is aso cunter productive as there are sustained peiods when prices are kept artificially low for political reason, at great cost to the govt treasury. It si better to pass the responsibility to consumers. Let them pay market prices.
Secondly ZMK depreciation means fuels prices need to go up. Expect more increases.
The price of a litre of petrol in the USA on average is 50 pence – less in some states. Now if it is around $1.50 in Zambia, it makes it atrociously expensive if you measure it against earnings. I know people will say fuel is cheaper in the USA because of this and that, but the fact is for a country like Zambia the cost in relation to the economy is catastrophic!
Work this out , Petrol ex Beira .68 US per L/T Transport Beira to Zambia .14 US per L/T = US .82 c
Petrol sold on Pumps US 1.50 Diff of US 0.68 c.
And i sure if larger quantity was to be purchased the Price would be even Less. Duties and Levies needs to be lowered for the Prices to come down.
You see its easy call me and i will do it for you all.