Zimbabwe situation improves on borrowed fuel

ZwNews Chief Correspondent

During the siting of Parliament of Zimbabwe on 10 October, 2018; the deputy minister of Energy and Power Development Magna Mudyiwa was grilled at length over the fuel situation in the country and the emerging queues at filling stations countrywide.

The deputy minister however, insisted that Zimbabwe had fuel in storage in tanks at Msasa fuel depot, and that the only challenge was of foreign currency to pay for it before it could be released for distribution.

However, the unfolding events in the past week were that in Zimbabwe there is a monopoly in the fuel procurement that is controlled by alleged corrupt cartels, fronted by Kuda Tagwirei of Sakunda Holdings.

Be that as it may, the fuel situation has in the past few days been improving slightly, with fuel queues getting sporadic and at some stations shorter, amid revelations by the Energy and Power Development Minister Joram Gumbo that the country was bailed out of the situation by an international company through credit, which Zimbabwe would be paying slowly.

Gumbo recently, told a local radio station (StarFM) that Zimbabwe is currently running on borrowed fuel.

The minister declined to disclose the name of the company, but said the country got a shot in the arm in fuel by a foreign company. He said that is the reason behind the now improved situation.

Meanwhile, a number of people in the country have now been made to believe a lasting solution have been found.

While some believe the battle is far from being over, others are sceptical, as the country that is struggling to lure investors is likely to default on payment agreement.

Zimbabwe has over the years been relying on credits in cash or otherwise. As for cash, the country had been using Treasury Bills to borrow from the internal financial institutions and the private sector, this resulted in it now being captured in arrears running to billions of dollars.