Thursday, March 28, 2024

Fuel prices to be reviewed every 60 days and adjusted upwards or downwards-Energy Minister

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Energy Minister David Mabumba
Energy Minister David Mabumba

THE Government has initiated a mechanism of reviewing fuel prices bimonthly, in response to the shifting market fundamentals that affect the wholesale and retail costs of the commodity.

Energy Minister David Mabumba said petroleum prices would be reviewed every two months and adjusted based on the performance of the Kwacha against other convertible currencies and international market of oil prices.

The Energy Regulation Board (ERB) this month reduced pump prices for fuel by K1.20 for petrol, 68 Ngwee for diesel, K1.22 for kerosene and low sulphur gas by 68 Ngwee.

This meant that the new price for petrol was K12.50 per litre from K13.70, diesel K10.72 per litre from K11.40, kerosene K6.81 per litre from K8.03 and low sulphur gas K13.01 per litre from K13.69 per litre.

Mr Mabumba said the next petroleum price review was anticipated in March and the outcome would be determined by how the Kwacha and international oil prices would perform.

“Fuel prices will be reviewed every 60 days and adjusted upwardly or downwards in response to the behaviour of the domestic exchange rate and international oil prices.

“This mechanism is being implemented to address delays in reviewing the prices, a scenario which in some instances denied consumers benefit when market fundamentals were stable,” Mr Mabumba said.

He said the public should respond favourably in case of an upward adjustment to the cost of the commodity as such a decision would be made if market forces were unfavourable and not that the Government was sadist.

Mr Mabumba said the Government had so far covered three provinces out of 10, consulting stakeholders on its proposal to leave fuel importation and distribution solely with the private sector.

He said the process was progressing well and envisaged to culminate in a situation where the private sector managed fuel importation and distribution, while the Government provided legislation to supervise the sector.

41 COMMENTS

  1. Absolute CRAP. Hon. Minister, why are you keeping SECRET formula for calculating fuel prices? Come in the open, after all, you and your fellow Cabinet members are there to serve PEOPLE and not selfish private and party interests.

    • Uko!
      This is the visionless PF bandits of blind Edgar for you. Its chimbwi without any plan but only chipantepante.
      PF bandits how much is mealie meal today?
      The Skeleton Key
      ~206~

    • Allow the minister to work.

      Don’t call what you don’t know, crap.

      This may be progressive because possibly changes on the market may reflect in your pocket.

    • Iwe 1mbecile (Ha)Lungu what do you know about how govt works? A proven Dunderhead like you should be more concerned with the. Non performance of your Dunderhead MPs who are just in parliament to eat, drive luxury SUVs and womanise! Look at the Southern MPs just a hopeless bunch of diseased ilombas – my connections at UTH have confirmed all of them with an exception of PF’s Evans are on HIV medication what a shame ba United Party of National Dunderheads!

    • What happened to the strategic fuel reserves. Anyway the PF got themselves into this nonsense when they last reduced the fuel prices the excuses they gave meant they now had to start making frequent adjustments to fuel prices. I just dont know how this works when the OMCs start importing and running the logistics end to end will the govt be providing price baseline ???

    • Useless Useless and I say it again Useless. Plan for 6 Months at least Not 2 Months. How will a big company, like the mines project its budget let alone an individual.
      So we will wait for the Minister’s announcement END OF
      Feb
      April
      May
      July and so on.? Ma Rubbish aya.

    • @ Peace for Zambia, You can not be adjusting prices every after 60 days because it makes planning visually impossible. If that is not crap then it is bull. s.h.i.t

    • Ba kateka, what kind of ministers have you given this nation. Business thrives on stability to allow for planing and projecting. Here is a key minister under your govt is assuring us of price instability and he thinks that is good for the country. Please fire this man in good time.

  2. @ lungu THE FORMULA is very complicayed that most of the zambians cannot understand as it involves “FOURIER TRANSFORMS even you dont even know what iam talking about because of UMBULI

    • And ministers do understand that formula? Wow!!! So much brain power its responsible for continuing fu*ck-up? Thank you for clarification Mr. ANYOKOoo Jackass

  3. What the minister is saying is that two variables will influence price. These are price for crude oil and kwacha performance against Dollar

    • Where have been these selfsame two variables in the past 18 months? These are corrupt empty tins…we might even be getting cheap crude oil from Middle East and paying off PF party debt and we do not even know it!!

  4. The world oil prices are still very low. Even with the dismal performance of the kwacha under PF, the prices can reduce further

  5. We hope this is not a scheme to keep adjusting the prices upwards every 60 days. It works well when genuineness is involved as is the case in South Africa.

  6. It is a welcome idea. Zambias will certainly be benefiting once kwacha performs well. It is a step forward. Keep it up.

    • Thats wishful thinking. PF is there to enrich its members, they don’t care about the ordinary Zambians. Just check with Ndola City Council and you will find that the councillors who have barely been in office for 6 months have already started sharing land amognst themselves

  7. Is this your way of telling us that the recent reduction was just a cheap show? You intend to raise prices in March? I’m now beginning to doubt this minister. He needs to be caned by my president His Excellency ECL.
    Mr Minister don’t play with Zambian people. You will be surprised at what they are capable of.

  8. Kikikiki…some kind of erectile dysfunction… simply a gymic to hike fuel prices once more. Lets not pretend , we are all know Kwacha is doing terribly bad and world fuel prices getting an erection. Directives ftom some man to reduce pump price wasnt in good faith. Keep your budgets at k18 per/L petrol.
    Vote wisely 2021!

  9. Business demands stability to function properly. The prospect of adjusting prices every 3 months will bring instability. How does business plan with unstable prices of energy? The Minister is totally ignorant of business, finance and economics. Let the honourable Minister spell out to the nation the parameters that will trigger price adjustments in energy prices, eg, international oil prices, Kwacha exchange rates, etc.

  10. This is what happens in other countries, South Africa for example, that’s the way to go. Fuel prices cannot be fixed for years…NO!

  11. when you are failure and dont even know where to start from that is the way . you just dont know what you are doing full stop.

  12. We don’t want such inconsistencies. Is that the reason why government pulled out of the fuel procurement process?

  13. What a country full of people who don’t analyse issues before speaking including the president.Wrong timing ba minister.Putting the country at risky.We need stability as in the country

  14. To be honest I expected this and I know where these guys are leading us to. When Fuel prices on the world market were very low, these guys never reduced, when they noticed that prices started going up, they played with our minds by reducing a bit and saying thats the September stock so that when they increase they will say its the world market Fuel will go up to K20 per litre before year end believe it or not.

    • This is a Party were the SG is proudly encouraging corruption in issuing of plots by his councillors…the country is being ran into the ground.

  15. Bus fares didn’t go down after the recent reduction. The moment the pump prices go up again, the bus fares will go up again. Ba minister sure do something. Are you sleeping or what? Or is it because you do not feel the effect? Yea possibly that

  16. Now I agree with someone who called these fools as CHIPANTE PANTE, ifwe tulanda ati mpulu mpulu, they are just like headless chickens who have no idea whether they are going or coming.

  17. Are these the same chaps who want to rule beyond 2021? Only crap voters will vote for such crap and continue surviving on crap! Investors want certainty in an economy. We should be able to predict how much fuel will cost for us to plan. This sounds like that SI on night driving, total crap!

  18. Me as a spokesman for the Ngoni paramount chief, Ngonis including the chiefs are not happy with Lungu’s leadership style it is no longer pro poor government , the ideologies which Mr Sata stood for. We don’t want Lungu in eastern province because most commodities are very expensive owing to exorbitant fuel pump prices. Matako yako president. Mapolo!

  19. Two months is too short for planning naimwe ba minister….cost of production will be going up and down like a yoyo. Review prices once a year, ideally mid-way in June and then at the begining of 2018.

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