ARME Increases Commission for Gas Station Agents

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ARME Increases Commission for Gas Station Agents
ARME Increases Commission for Gas Station Agents

Africa-Press – Cape verde. The decision by the Multisectoral Regulatory Agency for the Economy (ARME) increases the value of commissions paid to gas station agents. The end consumer will be the most affected, argues the Consumer Defense Association (ADECO), which says it was not consulted by the regulator.

The upward revision of commissions paid to gas station agents will harm the end consumer, argues ADECO, interviewed by Expresso das Ilhas.

According to ARME, this revision of the amounts to be paid to agents will be 4.98 escudos/kg for butane gas, 3.96 escudos/l for gasoline, 9.11 escudos/l for oil, and 3.76 escudos/l for regular diesel. The “value of the agents’ commission for marine diesel remains unchanged at 1.16 escudos/l”.

The commissions, the regulator also claims, “were set to ensure that they can generate sufficient cash flow to cover all operating and maintenance costs, and also provide the profitability required by creditors and shareholders/partners, in accordance with the level of risk they have assumed”, adds the regulator in the text published in the Official Gazette of 31 December.

Nelson Faria, chairman of ADECO, said in an interview with Expresso das Ilhas that “if [the value of commissions] is going to be increased to benefit resellers, this burden may naturally not be borne solely by distribution companies, namely Enacol or Vivo. And the tendency will be that of burdening the consumer. Now, we know about the volatility of fuel prices and we naturally consider that anything that burdens the consumer, in a context like ours, is not beneficial”.

Sabino Baptista, member of ADECO and representative of the Association on the ARME Advisory Board, said that he “did not have the opportunity to comment on this matter” due to the short notice to speak. The note was sent on 20 December, and the response was due within seven days. “If we take away the 20th, which was a Friday, and two days of the weekend, the 23rd was Monday, the 24th and 25th were Christmas, there was practically no time for ADECO to react and that is why we did not comment on this matter”, added Sabino Baptista.

For this representative of the consumer protection association, the legislation on fuel prices has some points that are “incoherent”.

The 2011 decree, says Sabino Baptista, states that the national oil system “is made up of activities such as the refining of crude oil. Now, as far as I know, refining is not carried out in Cape Verde, unless there is another understanding of that word. And it also says that another requirement is the treatment of petroleum products. Well, as far as I know, here in Cape Verde, petroleum products are not treated either. The end consumer buys products that have already been treated, such as oils, etc. Therefore, there is something that needs to be reviewed in this decree-law”.

Asked whether the regulators have an interest in protecting the consumer, Sabino Baptista argues that “in theory, yes. In theory, but often whenever there are costs, the end consumer is the one who pays”.

Nelson Faria, in turn, points out that “regulators exist because they are necessary in the market”, but adds that “we see, despite having some relationship with some regulators, we see, as a tendency, a decline for the market, for the operators. Hence the relevance of the existence of the decade, hence the relevance of this side of protecting only the consumer”.

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Increases go up to 275.18%

The new table of commissions paid to gas station agents updates the amounts they receive for each litre of fuel sold.

However, while the increases for gasoline and butane gas are 2.51% and 1.22%, respectively, for oil the increase in the commission value is 275.18% and for diesel it is 80.25%.

“In relation to diesel, the regulator approved only 80.25% of the increase found, aiming to avoid an excessive impact on the commission value. This decision also took into account the limitations of information available to determine agents’ commissions, since the data used comes from a limited sample of service stations”, states ARME in the text published in the Official Gazette.

In addition, ARME states that it will “strictly monitor the economic and financial situation of fuel stations, checking whether the values ​​set guarantee the economic and financial balance of the undertakings”.

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