According to rumours doing rounds, the Energy Regulation Board is expected to announce a K7 price increment on fuel today.
Several fuel attendents from different filling stations have told Kalemba that they briefly halted the sale of fuel to customers, so that they can take advantage of the anticipated price increment.
This has triggered panic buying and caused an artificial fuel shortage within Lusaka in some filling stations.
A drive check conducted by Kalemba revealed that most some service stations among them Rubis, Spectrum oil, Engen and Petroda did have fuel as of this morning but they were sending away motorists on the pretext that they were not selling.
Motorists spoken to said it was frustrating to drive around town in search of the product.
“It’s annoying to move from one gas station to another when there’s no shortage of fuel. If there was a shortage government could have communicated but these gas stations are deliberately holding on to fuel so that they can sell at a higher price in an event of an increase which is wrong,” Gibson Chabi said.
“Relevant authorities should look into the matter.”
All fingers are crossed as hours tick to find out the verdict whether fuel pump prices will be reduced or hiked.
Kalemba January 31, 2024
