27 October 2009
THE Zambia Competition Commission (ZCC) has called on Members of Parliament (MPs) to help bring on board the private sector to set up another oil refinery in order to overcome the fuel shortages being experienced.
ZCC board chairperson, Bernard Chiwala said what was happening at Indeni was a sign that the country needed another refinery because currently, there was no competition in the oil industry.
Mr Chiwala said this in Lusaka yesterday during a one-day workshop organised by the ZCC and European Commission (EC) for parliamentarians.
"Any increase of fuel prices in the country will affect the inflation and the budget target. We need concerted efforts from everyone including our parliamentarians to ensure that together, we determine the future of Indeni," he said.
He told the Parliamentarians that lack of competition in the oil industry would see the country experiencing the same bottlenecks of procuring, processing and pricing of fuel.
Most of the parliamentarians agreed that setting up another refinery to be run by the private sector was the way forward but security issues should be taken into account on coming with such a refinery.
The workshop focused on the role of competition law in national economic development hence, most of the MPs felt that full participation of both the public and private sectors in the oil industry would enhance competition to the advantage of the consumers.
The MPs said there was no competition in the oil industry because Indeni was the sole player making the fuel expensive each time the refinery shut down for annual maintenance.
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