By Chileshe Mwango and Balewa Zyuulu
The fuel situation in Lusaka has gradually started normalizing following a shortage of fuel that affected most parts of the country owing to protesting local tanker drivers.
A check by Phoenix News in selected filling stations along the Great East Road and Lusaka’s industrial area found fuel tankers offloading the commodity while long queues of motor vehicles waited.
Most filling stations had no fuel from Saturday and yesterday after the protesting local tanker drivers blocked foreign tankers from delivering fuel to Oil Marketing Companies –OMCs-.
The local tanker drivers have for a long time been complaining of lack of business saying most OMCs have been using foreigners and that they could not be allowed to load fuel in both Mozambique and Tanzania.
Yesterday President Edgar Lungu directed that the 50 percent fuel volume allocation to local transporters be fully implemented without any delays and further directed that tanker drivers start the delivery of fuel to their respective destinations immediately.
Meanwhile, the Continental Leadership Research Institute has called on government to put in place adequate systems that will address incidences which affect the disruption in the distribution of petroleum products in the country.
Commenting on the shortage of fuel that has hit some parts of the country due to the protest by tanker drivers, Institute Executive Director Paul Hakoola says fuel is one of the key drivers of the economy hence the need to ensure there are no disruptions in the supply chain of the commodity in the country.
Mr. Hakoola says government should create a system that will always be ready for incidences that might affect the distribution systems of petroleum products and should have adequate back up to ensure end users are not affected instantly.
PHOENIX NEWS