The Zimbabwe government has banned motorists from carrying fuel in containers, a routine procedure in the southern African country where there are chronic fuel shortages, a newspaper said on Tuesday.
The official Herald newspaper said people who wanted to transport containers of fuel privately would now have to obtain permission from the government or face arrest.
”If, for example, someone has a funeral or is a farmer who needs diesel, he has to apply to the ministry to be given permission to carry the fuel… otherwise he will get arrested,” Rueben Marumahoko, the deputy minister of energy was quoted as saying.
The Herald said the move was intended to stamp out a thriving black market for fuel, which sells for anything up to 1 700 Zimbabwe dollars (two US dollars) a litre, way above the official price of 450 Zimbabwe dollars (54 US cents) per litre.
But members of the public are likely to be angered by the ban.
Motorists here often have to carry spare fuel with them on long trips out of cities, where they are unlikely to find fuel at service stations.
For the past three years Zimbabwe has faced severe fuel shortages that have in turn disrupted industry and commerce and caused transport problems for members of the public.
Motorists sometimes have to queue for days to obtain the scarce commodity.
The Herald reported that on Monday police at roadblocks were already confiscating fuel containers found in vehicles.
Last month the government claimed it had concluded a fuel deal with Libya that would see the oil-rich north African country supplying Zimbabwe with its fuel needs by the end of June.
Libya at one stage provided Zimbabwe with 70% of its fuel needs, but the supply line was cut after Zimbabwe failed to meet its end of the bargain, which was to supply Libya with beef, tobacco and sugar. – Sapa-AFP