THE Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) Tuesday announced new prices of fuel. The latest increases comes two weeks after Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube indicated he would be comfortable with an increase that would bring the precious liquid’s value per litre at par with the interbank rate of the US$.
According to a statement by Zera early Monday, the new price of petrol is now $7.55 from $7.47 and diesel now $7.22 up from $7.19.
The increase that Zera confirmed on its Twitter handle is the third in July and sixth fuel increase inside six months with the first having been the 150% jump in January announced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The January increase triggered violent protests that forced the government to deploy the military. Live ammunition was used to quell the disturbances leaving at least 17 people dead.
Ncube is on record saying fuel the ideal price of fuel should be at par with USD1. However the Treasury Chief suggested government would drip feed the increases to reduce the possibility of social upheaval.
Despite the increases, Zimbabwe continues to face fuel shortages and queues have remained a key feature despite the increases in prices,
The demand of fuel is on the increase due to the continued power cuts across the country.
The Treasury chief also indicated that Zimbabwe would not allow the price to jump to regional averages in one swoop.
