Thursday, March 28, 2024

ERB to combat fuel smuggling, dilution and adulteration

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Livingstone Mayor, Eugene Mapuyo has called up on petroleum dealers and the security wings in the country to work collectively in the implementation of fuel marking technology.

This is an innovation that has been adopted by the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) where markers are added to refined fuels by national governments to combat smuggling, dilution and adulteration.

Fuel marketers deploy marking programs to prevent grade switching and to ensure proper levels of chemical addition are present.

Speaking during the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) stake holder meeting in fuel marking at the Court Yards Hotel in Livingstone yesterday, the mayor said the technology will help curb the perpetuated illegal selling of fuel and the smuggling of petroleum products in the country.

“Illegal traders have caused a lot of damage to property and loss of life due to their sub-standard storage of petroleum products. I therefore commend this move by ERB because it will bring sanity in the petroleum business”, the Mayor said.

Meanwhile, ERB Executive Director, Langiwe Lungu stated that this technology will also help the government to gather enough revenue for the country because there will be a cease in petroleum dealers who dodge taxes by smuggling fuel.

“This is a good initiative and has been adopted by a lot of African countries, Ghana being in the lead hence I believe it will be a workable idea in our country”, Ms. Lungu said.

She further said people who will be found selling unmarked fuel will attract a fine of US$30,000 or kwacha equivalent or imprisonment for over 2 years or both.

And the stake holders present at the meeting expressed confidence in the technology but called upon ERB to guarantee them safety from exploitation in the process because the idea is new to the Zambian people.

9 COMMENTS

  1. Always having misplaced priorities, bringing the prices down should be their priority? Why is ours the most expensive in the region and probably the whole Africa?

  2. Always having misplaced priorities, bringing the prices down should be their priority. Why is ours the most expensive in the region and probably the whole Africa?

  3. ERB is just a rubber stamp toothless instituition which has lamentably failed the Zambian motorists. Fuel prices are always high while fuel illegal vending is almost every where. So what sort of organisation is this?

  4. Even terminology must be investigated. Low sulfur diesel is 50 ppm, not 500 ppm because 50 DOES exist. To exclude this from the market and claim 500ppm as low sulfur is a sham and a scam … just saying.

    • Doc, The main contributing factor to harmful gas emissions in the diesel is sulfur. Environmentally the preferred choice is to use diesel containing 50 parts or particles per million (ppm) – i.e. 0,005% sulphur – instead of diesel containing 500 ppm or 0,05% sulphur. Is that what you are asking me to do??

  5. the Mayor is commenting on something he does not fully understand! those who briefed him didn’t do a very gud job! losses of life mr mayor will continue by illegal fuel dealers, as fuel marking is no near the solution to that! fuel marking is simply a chemical added to fuel that is in gvt storage facilities (tazama), it does not change the composition of fuel or react in case of to different hydrocarbons are mixed, so changanya is still very possible! But why introduce it, well, the answer is to prevent Dumping, dumping is been practiced by oil marketing companies in order to avoid taxes, the mark will be the only difference between the fuel imported directly going to pump stations and which is from gvt storage! a mark can only be identified in a petroleum chemical lab!

  6. Surprised you liked this so much but you”re pretty much in tune with the spirit of ERB”s work. I read this first in 8th grade and then read almost nothing but ERB (and his clones) for the next two years. You”re right about Dejah Thoris becoming a bit more assertive in later books. Dian from the Pellucidar series is probably his most kickass female character. You can only take so many ultra-noble, all-American, athletic heroes, but this was typical of the pulp era. The skimpy clothing always seemed impracticalsitting on the ground, rubbing up against rocks, trees, etc.all that dirt and grit. They must have been covered in smudges and scratches. Most of his books featured minimal clothing yet never a mention of anyone staring at one”s naughty bits. Must be all that honor and…

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