Africa-Press – Malawi. Fuel shortage has once again hit Malawi, leading to long queues at fuel service stations in cities across Malawi. In all cities including the capital Lilongwe and commercial city Blantyre, there are no fuel or long queues at a few fuel service stations as motorists are looking to buy the commodity
Fuel scarcity has however led to a hike in fares by public transport operators. The Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) Spokesperson Fitina Khonje has attributed the fuel scarcity to forex shortage in Malawi.
The country has been facing recurring fuel shortages for close to two years now with the root cause being the lack of foreign exchange. Currently, fuel is pegged at MK5,000 per litre on the black market from MK1,780 per litre.
Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu said in August this year during another fuel crisis that the major challenge has been that Malawi is importing less fuel than it consuming because of a lack of forex.
“As of now, the fuel we are importing has been hovering around 41 million liters per month which is against the projected demand of 51 to 60 million liters per month,” said Kunkuyu. President Lazarus Chakwera’s Tonse Alliance government has failed to find a lasting solution to fuel shortages after three years in power.
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