Motorists have been having it hard, sometimes enduring 24 hours on fuel service station queues just to buy petrol, with the authorities falling all over themselves on what is really causing the fuel supply problem.
Now a government report has revealed how trade politics and bureaucracy in neighbouring Tanzania disrupted the supply of fuel, especially petrol, to Malawi, resulting in an inevitable scramble for the commodity among consumers.
According to a government report on the events leading to the delay, a vessel, namely Mt Virgo, carrying about 50 million litres of fuel, docked at Tanga on July 9, 2025 after Tanzania’s Ministry of Energy redirected it from Dar es Salaam.
However, the report indicates that the ship was held up due to withheld approvals, shifting regulatory requirements and a data entry error, despite several other vessels that arrived later being allowed to discharge the same.
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The report indicates that on July 12, 2025, the Tanzania Revenue Authority initially granted approval for berthing, only to withdraw it hours later, reportedly over unofficial concerns about product dumping.
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It also indicates that further delays came from the Tanzania Ports Authority, which purportedly withheld second-level clearance without explanation.
According to the report, clearance for discharge was only granted on July 20, 2025 after Malawi’s Minister of Finance Simplex Chithyola Banda intervened, with offloading completed between July 23 and 24.
“A new ‘Notice of Intention to Load’ requirement, not previously enforced, was introduced on July 26, followed by another delay when authorities blocked release due to a petrol-diesel density mismatch. The first trucks only began departing Tanga for Malawi on August 1, instead of mid-July as originally expected,” the report reads.
The delay put pressure on domestic fuel security at a time when demand has surged by 35 percent, partly due to neighbouring countries buying from Malawi, where pump prices are lower.
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The government document indicates that fuel that once lasted a month is now running out within two weeks.
Meanwhile, National Oil Company of Malawi (Nocma) spokesperson Raymond Likambale has said deliveries are now underway.
“We, as an official agent of the G2G agreement, had earlier communicated that fuel sourced through Tanga would begin arriving in Malawi over the weekend. We are pleased to confirm that deliveries have, indeed, commenced and the process is now in full motion,” Likambale said.
He said more than 150 fuel tankers had crossed into Malawi via Songwe border by midday yesterday, adding that 27 million litres of petrol are on their way from Tanzania.
Likambale said Nocma has also continued receiving fuel deliveries through Nacala by rail.
To speed up supply, Likambale said Nocma had secured weekend loading at Tanga, engaged truck owners for faster movement to strategic reserves, introduced manual release processes to bypass system glitches and extended reserve operating hours from 6am to 11pm.
“Our commitment remains firm: to restore stability to the fuel supply chain and keep the country moving,” he said.
The report on the delays warns that Malawi’s experience at Tanga raises concerns over transparency and predictability in future G2G shipments and underscores the need to invest in Nacala Port, which it says has proved faster and more efficient.
On July 17 this year, Nocma announced the arrival of 50 million litres of petroleum products from Oman.
Nocma Board Member Innocent Mphote led a Malawi delegation to Tanga Port in Tanzania yesterday to confirm the arrival of the fuel.
“The arrival of this fuel marks a milestone for Malawi’s fuel supply,” Mphote said.
The arrival of MT Virgo was a direct outcome of President Lazarus Chakwera’s initiative to resolve chronic fuel shortages and stabilise prices in Malawi by bypassing intermediary agents through the establishment of more reliable and cost-effective procurement channels.
In a national address on November 27, 2024, Chakwera announced a strategic shift away from the Open Tender System (OTS) in favour of direct G2G partnerships with key oil-producing nations.
As part of this new arrangement, a high-level technical team, led by Ministry of Energy Principal Secretary Alfonso Chikuni, was dispatched by President Chakwera to the United Arab Emirates in March this year.
The team recommended securing fuel supply contracts with State-owned oil giants in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Last month, Captain Hallam Dimila of the MT Virgo, who transported the fuel from Oman, indicated that once all processes were complete, the fuel would be discharged to Malawi.
