Zanu PF’s Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe (UMP) Senator Jerry Gotora has questioned why fuel prices remain high in the country, arguing that existing local production and infrastructure should be helping to keep costs down.
Speaking during a Senate question-and-answer session, Gotora said Zimbabwe’s fuel pricing did not reflect the advantages of domestic blending and established supply systems.
He pointed to the country’s ethanol blending programme which uses sugar-based ethanol saying this should reduce the cost of imported fuel.
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“Our fuel in this country in my view is supposed to be very cheap. Why? Because we are blending with sugar and sugar. Because you are blending with sugar, the actual cost of the imported fuel is therefore reduced by the fact that we are generating part of our fuel locally,” he said.
He also highlighted Zimbabwe’s fuel infrastructure including the Beira-Harare pipeline and storage facilities in Harare which he said should further lower costs.
“We have a state pipeline from Beira to Harare and we have a huge storage facility at Msasa, Mabvuku turn off,” he said.
He questioned the link often made between global conflicts and domestic fuel price increases arguing that Zimbabwe’s geographical distance from major conflict zones should limit their impact.
“I personally do not understand the effect of the war in Iran, Israel and America or even the war in Russia and Ukraine because we are quite a distant away from them,” he said.
The Senator added that the country’s underground fuel reserves particularly at Mabvuku should be sufficient to guarantee long-term supply.
“The facility underground at Mabvuku is so huge that we should be able to keep fuel which will last us years underground,” he said.
His remarks come amid ongoing concerns from consumers and businesses over the cost of fuel in the country which has remained comparatively high.
