Fuel shortage hits Kabwe District

Kabwe district is experiencing a severe shortage of fuel at all the existing filling stations, except for Petrotech, since last evening.

ZANIS reports that from its survey at most Filing Stations in the area , today, long queues characterized most filling station in search of fuel.

At Puma, Juvena and Total filling stations, located within the town center, motorists were found queuing for Petrol and Diesel, with no indicator of the commodity being available.

Filling station Managers at Puma, Juvena and Total had indicated that they do not know when the country’s most essential commodity will be available at their filling stations.

They, however, declined to give further details on the matter, saying they have no information on why the commodity is scarce.

But Petrotech Manager, Walter Farinacci, said his Filling Station is not affected with the shortage because his company received enough fuel, yesterday.

Mr. Farinacci said he received 35000 Litres of Petrol and 21 000 Litres of Diesel and boasted that Petrotech has upped its fuel sales due to the high demand considering that it is the only filling station that has fuel, in town.

He, however, said there is a lot of pressure on his workers, who have been working tirelessly since last evening to relieve the queues and service more motorists.

But motorists in Kabwe have appealed to government to settle the fuel issue, once and for all, saying the supply of the commodity has been unstable for a long time, now.

One of the motorists, Mumba Chikwani, who is a bus driver, said government should state its position on the matter and explain why there has been a concurrent shortage of fuel in most parts of the country, lately.

Mr. Chikwani said the fuel shortage situation has impacted negatively on, not only his business, but that of his colleagues, too.

He said most of his colleagues have parked their vehicles because they cannot stand the long queues at Petrotech, while others have opted to go as far as Kapiri-Mposhi to purchase fuel.

He complained that he would not be able to meet his targets today, in terms of cashing, because he spent the whole morning on a queue at Petrotech.

In addition, his colleague, Moses Suhani, also a bus driver, complained that he had to go as far as Kapiri-Mposhi to purchase fuel because he could not withstand the long queues at the town’s only operational filling station.

Mr. Suhani said there is need for government intervention on the continued fuel shortages because it has a great impact, especially on the transport business community, who solely depend on its availability to earn a living.

He said for instance, he has to struggle to look for fuel because his boss will not accept stories pertaining to the unavailability of fuel.

Mr. Suhani said the issue must be addressed, immediately, so that motorists can go about their businesses, smoothly.

Meanwhile, most taxi drivers in Kabwe have parked their vehicles, saying they will only resume duties when the commodity is available at the other filling stations, because the queues at Petrotech are never-ending and standing there the whole day, is equal to parking the vehicles

ZANIS