By Cathy Maulidi:
Government authorities have held two meetings this week in a desperate search for solutions to end the persisting fuel crisis in the country.
At the heart of it all is how to haul some 30 million litres of fuel from Tanga port in Tanzania into the country.
Early in the week, President Lazarus Chakwera demanded answers as to why authorities are unable to bring the fuel into the country.
The consignment is part of the 51 million litres which the government secured last month.
On Tuesday, Vice President Michael Usi who is also Minister of State and Public Service Delivery summoned officials from the Ministry of Energy, the National Oil Company of Malawi (Nocma) and the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) to a meeting where he demanded that he be provided with a detailed report outlining solutions to the persistent fuel shortages.
He gave the officials two working days to deliver the report. On Thursday night, the official met again and discussed the contents of the report.
Usi could not disclose the details when Malawi News asked him yesterday to share what the report contained.
“They have provided the possible solutions and we are reviewing and analysing them. We have opted for one solution. We have agreed and we should therefore be implementing that solution. People’s interest should not be in the nitty-gritties but having the fuel being brought into the country,” he said.
He added: “Our focus was to bring the fuel into the country, so whatever we have discussed, the objective is to bring fuel into the country. So that is what we have discussed and that’s what we have agreed. I’m satisfied with the solutions.”
Minister of Energy Ibrahim Matola also declined to comment on the report’s contents when contacted.
Malawi has been experiencing one of the worst fuel shortage crises that has persisted for months.
As the country reeled under the crisis last year, in November, Chakwera announced that government was moving away open tender system of fuel procurement to government-to-government arrangement as a way of ensuring continued supply of the commodity in the country.
According to Chakwera, the method would make Malawi’s access to fuel more secure through better payment terms and cycles.
He also announced he had constituted a coordinating committee to facilitate and execute all aspects of the new policy.
Parliament passed the bill that would facilitate the new arrangement of fuel procurement.
Chakwera then flew to the United Arab Emirates to discuss the arrangement with the authorities there.
Soon after the visit, Ministry of Energy announced through a statement, signed by Matola, that Chakwera’s discussion with the UAE authorities had resulted in Malawi securing 51 million litres of fuel.
Although both Matola and Chakwera have indicated that the consignment was sourced under the government-to-government arrangement, Mera Chief Executive Officer Henry Kachaje said before a parliamentary committee that this fuel supply was sourced under another arrangement, as the President had not yet signed the bill into law at the time this procurement was made.
