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Ewura blames supply systems for ‘reported’ petroleum shortages
The director general of the Energy and Water Services Regulatory Authority (Ewura), Dr James Andilile, speaks at a press conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday, concerning the availability of fuel in the country. Photo | Sunday George
What you need to know:
- The Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (Ewura) conducted a thorough inspection of storage terminals across Dar es Salaam in the past few days, which confirmed the fact that the country had enough fuel
Dar es Salaam. The energy regulator said yesterday that there were enough petroleum products in the country and that the reported shortages in some rural areas were due to a hiccup in the process of releasing the product from depots.
The Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (Ewura) conducted a thorough inspection of storage terminals across Dar es Salaam in the past few days, which confirmed the fact that the country had enough fuel.
“We have seen that drivers are told to go to certain depots, and when they get there, they are told to go to another place. As such, the time lost in the process delays the fuel service’s ability to reach customers on time. It also gives the perception that there is a shortage,” the Ewura director general, Dr James Andilile, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
He said it was due to such a shortfall in the distribution system that consumers on the outskirts of major towns such as Dar es Salaam were facing difficulties in accessing fuel.
The new assurance by Ewura comes two days after the same regulator warned Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) against deliberately hoarding petroleum products with a view to causing an artificial shortage.
In a statement it issued earlier this week, Ewura warned that complicit OMCs risked having their licences revoked.
However, the Tanzania Oil Marketers Association (Taomac) intervened, claiming that the reported shortage was real and that it was due to the dollar shortage.
“We saw it coming since January this year, when the dollar crisis started to take its toll,” Taomac executive director Raphael Mgaya told The Citizen earlier this week.
But yesterday, Dr Andilile said Ewura was working in collaboration with the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS), fuel depot owners, and oil dealers to find a lasting solution to the identified distribution challenges.
As an immediate solution, he said they would work around the clock so that the vehicles could load and leave on time to ensure that fuel reaches retail filling stations on time.
Dr Andilile assured the nation that there is no shortage of oil and that the available volume was for about 30 days, so there is no need to worry.
He reiterated that Ewura would take legal action, including licence revocation, against any dealer who would be found to be hoarding petroleum products in a deliberate move to sell them when prices rise.
“We have also heard that there are oil stations hoarding fuel for the same reasons,” he noted.
“We are continuing with the investigation, and if we find out, legal measures will be taken. Fuel plays an integral part of the country’s economy, so we cannot allow any dirty tricks in fuel marketing in the country,” he emphasised.
In an apparent reference to claims that in some remote locations, some refuelling stations tend to sell the product in gallons as a way of duping consumers on the right quantity for the money they pay, Dr Andilile said those to be found engaging in the practise would equally face the music.
Ewura said that until Friday last week, Tanzania had a stock of 169.9 million litres of petrol, 209.6 million litres of diesel, and 34.6 million litres of jet fuel.
