Africa-Press – Lesotho. Petroleum Fund has highlighted the importance of adjustments on pricing of fuel in Lesotho. This, the fund addressed during the induction workshop for journalists on Thursday.
Petroleum Fund Operations Manager Lebohang Makhoali said the petroleum industry has deteriorated for the past years and only two multinational petrol companies in
the country are still standing which are Engen and Puma, on the other hand Lesotho has three local companies being Tholo Energy, Lesotho Petroleum and
Mendi. He said Southern African Custom Union (SACU) countries use the same pricing of fuel and fuel pricing is made by Petroleum Fund in Lesotho. He also
pointed that Lesotho fuel pricing is not made by South Africa as most people tend to think – that if fuel goes up in South Africa it will also go up in
Lesotho. “We can recall that in 2020 during the first lockdown, fuel prices had gone down; this was because of the high demand of supply, a lot of people had enough fuel
to carry them throughout the lockdown. We are also aware that there are people who sell petrol in their shops, this is a dangerous practise and should be
taken into serious consideration, for safety purposes no one is allowed to sell petrol and we want to set a price cap for shop owners who sell paraffin on higher
prices,” he warned. The fluctuation in prices is largely attributed to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Explaining its implication, Petroleum Fund Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) Thato Mohasoa said, “Russia is one of the countries that supply crude oil
world-wide, therefore the war may result in inaccessibility of fuel. Otherwise, our job is to ensure that there is enough supply of fuel across the country.
” The CEO added that to prepare for the worst times, they will construct a fuel
storage facility as a reserve that will last at least two months. “We want to introduce mobile filing stations in the country to supply for remote areas,” he
said. The fund is committed to embark on the petroleum investment that will not only ensure there is security and supply of petroleum products in Lesotho but that
investment opportunities are created for Basotho within petroleum sector, as well as overall stimulation of the economy and job creation in the country.
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