|
|
Uganda: Fuel Prices Double As Stocks Run Out
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
The Monitor (Kampala)
2 January 2008
Posted to the web 3 January 2008
Tabu Butagira and Andrew Bagala
Kampala
Escalating fuel shortage in the country compounded by hoarding triggered by sensational speculation have more than doubled the price of petrol overnight as black marketers pocketed staggering profits in roadside sales.
Motorists swapped between "empty" fuel stations in the city and upcountry as the price of a litre of petrol, which had risen to Shs2, 460 on Monday in Kampala jumped to between Shs4, 000 - 5, 000 at daybreak yesterday. Long queues of anxious clients built up at various pump stations, as local oil suppliers warned of further scarcity if the bloody post-election meltdown in neighbouring Kenya - and main fuel route for landlocked Uganda - does not calm sooner.
"The continued instability in Kenya has a negative impact not only on fuel supply but also other imported goods," said Mr Ivan Kyayonka, the country manager of Shell - Uganda adding, "How long the (fuel) stocks we have will last depends on the consumption pattern".
Observers say it is amateurish for a government that saw the country, plunge into acute fuel shortage in early and mid last year due to logistical and bureaucratic bottlenecks in Kenya not to have own reserves.
The Ministry of Energy is now employing ad hoc approaches to stave off the chaos of the deepening fuel crisis that has catapulted travel fares and ejected some millers from business.
"The situation is very bad but we are doing everything possible to normalise it," junior Energy Minister Simon D' Ujanga said.
He suggested that Uganda might hold crisis talks with authorities in Tanzania to permit fuel loading from Mwanza since a roundtrip to the more distant Dar es Salaam capital terminals takes a whole week for the fuel dealers.
Mr Joseph Kisembo, the marketing manager and Spokesman for Kobil (Uganda) company said they last hauled petroleum products from Kenya on December 24.
"What matters is calm returning to Kenya, otherwise we have fuel stocks there, which we can load once we are permitted into the country," he said.
From Arua in West Nile region to Masaka in the central and mid west to Kibaale District, pump attendants turned away hundreds of clients saying their petrol stocks had dried up while others started rationing diesel to selected customers!
In downtown Kampala, Mr John Kitasimbwa, the spokesman of Commercial Taxis Owners and Transporters Development Association (Cotoda) said drivers were making less monetary returns to the regulator on grounds of sudden loss making.
|
In a statement issued yesterday, Energy Minister Daudi Migereko appealed to the public to rationalise use of the dwindling petrol stocks by cutting down travel during the New Year holidays.
Mr Amos Kahoiga, the tenderer of Kagadi Taxi Park said transport fares to the neighbouring Hoima and Kabarole districts had increased from Shs7,000 to Shs10,000 per passenger.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FRANCIS MUGERWA AND MICHAEL J. SSALI
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 The Monitor. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
