/ 12 May 2003

Zimbabwe: three days of fuel left

Zimbabwe’s national airline has just two or three days worth of fuel supply left, as a result of a critical liquid fuels shortage that has hit the country.

Quoting airline spokesperson David Mwenga, the private Daily News said Air Zimbabwe is waiting to hear from fuel companies when more fuel will be delivered.

”We have enough stocks for two to three days,” Mwenga said.

The representative added that an Air Zimbabwe flight from London to Harare had to make a stopover in the Zambian capital Lusaka on Sunday, to save the country’s own dwindling stocks of fuel.

Zimbabwe is in the grip of a crippling fuel shortage, caused by a lack of foreign currency needed to import the commodity. Most fuel stations across the country have run dry.

There is also a shortage of coal in the country, which has affected industry, and the government has said that electricity power cuts are imminent due to the inability of the country to pay its debts to suppliers. ‒ Sapa-AFP