Africa-Press – Angola. The city of Mbanza Kongo, capital of the province of Zaire, has been without fuel at the pumps for more than a week, a situation that is creating difficulties for motorists and motorcyclists.
Given this reality, the price of taxi and motorcycle taxi rides rose from 200 to 300 and 400 kwanzas, respectively.
Motorists and motorcycle taxi drivers stated, in an interview, that to supply their vehicles they are purchasing gasoline in the informal market at a price of 750 kwanzas per liter.
The illegal departure of considerable quantities of gasoline and diesel almost every day to neighboring DRC was identified as the main cause of the glaring lack of fuel in this city.
João Makubikua, a motorist, said that it is common for pump employees to sell fuel in drums and other containers when the product arrives, to the detriment of vehicles and motorbikes.
The scheme, according to the interlocutor, involves managers of some service stations who, instead of selling the product during the day, prefer to sell it at night to, allegedly, serve citizens involved in fuel smuggling.
“It is no secret to anyone that the city of Mbanza Kongo experiences a shortage of gasoline and diesel over and over again, due to smuggling”, he expressed, considering there is a certain apathy in combating this phenomenon.
He recalled that motorcycle taxis are the main means of facilitating the movement of citizens in this capital of the province of Zaire, which has not had an urban public transport network for years.
Public servant Isabel Fineza called for greater engagement by the competent State bodies in combating this illicit business, remembering that this clandestine trade harms the country’s economy and the interests of national citizens.
“In the last few days I have been arriving slightly late at my place of work, due to difficulties in catching a taxi. There are days when I have to walk from home to work and vice versa,” she said.
For motorcycle taxi driver Arlindo Samuel, the class decided to increase the price of the ride to compensate for the high costs of fuel purchased in the informal market.
He accused the employees of some bombs of complicity with smugglers, for charging commissions for privileged service.
Meanwhile, a manager of one of the private pumps located on the outskirts of the city of Mbanza Kongo, who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity, said that his company works to make profits, without considering the type of customer.
He justified that he purchases the product in Luanda at 285 kwanzas per liter, stressing that these costs, combined with shipping expenses to Mbanza Kongo, mean that the company chooses to serve those who offer to pay more.
The city of Mbanza Kongo has two main fuel pumps, owned by the companies Sonangol and Pumangol. It also has dozens of service stations that operate in containers.
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