Zimbabwe will ban leaded petrol from March in line with a regional agreement to phase out the fuel this year, a spokesperson for the energy ministry said on Monday.
“We have set the end of March as the deadline for using unleaded fuel as this is in line with other countries in the region,” Justin Mupamhanga, secretary in the energy ministry, said.
“Zimbabwe and Malawi import their fuel through either Mozambique and South Africa. Our counterparts from Mozambique have indicated they will stop using leaded petrol by March, so Zimbabwe also has moved in tandem …” he said.
The phasing out of leaded fuel is in line with pledges made at the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in August 2002.
At the summit, 49 Sub-Saharan African countries pledged to stop using leaded fuel by January 1, 2006.
Zimbabwe has been hit by a chronic shortage of fuel over the past four years, due mainly to a lack of foreign currency.
Fuel prices have been fixed by the government at rates importers say are unrealistically low. Many private companies and individuals now import their own fuel at prices far higher than the official rate.
But public services which rely upon cheaper National Oil Company of Zimbabwe fuel have been hard hit by the current crisis.
Zimbabwe, which is facing a crippling fuel shortage, in September upped petrol and diesel prices by more than 100% that the government said was needed to keep up with the hike in international prices.
Petrol prices zoomed from Z$10 000 per litre (12 US cents) to Z$22 300 (28 US cents), while diesel shot up from Z$9 600 to Z$20 800(26 US cents). – AFP