* NOCMA’s mandate is to hold fuel reserves for the country, but since July 2024, the reserves have been empty due to forex challenges
* The fuel that the country has been purchasing recently goes directly to the fuel pumps to feed the nation — thus our reserves currently have no fuel
* As NOCMA urges Energy Minister to engage with Mozambican authorities to ease operational delays at the port of Beira, where fuel vessels often wait for several days before offloading
By Sheminah Nkhoma, MANA
Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining, Jean Mathanga, has assured Malawians that the government is working tirelessly to ensure that the country has enough fuel as queues for fuel at filling stations continue to haunt motorists.
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Speaking yesterday in Lilongwe after inspecting fuel storage facility for National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA), Mathanga said government is aware of the current fuel situation, which has been caused by a lack of foreign exchange and political instability in Tanzania.
She said the situation in Tanzania has now stabilised, and many fuel trucks that were grounded have started operating.
The Minister emphasised that NOCMA’s mandate is to hold fuel reserves for the country, but since July 2024, the reserves have been empty due to forex challenges.
“The fuel that the country has been purchasing recently goes directly to the fuel pumps to feed the nation. As a result, our reserves currently have no fuel,” Mathanga said.
Mathanga also expressed concern that the current low fuel prices have led to smuggling to neighbouring countries — thus she called for the introduction of an Automatic Pricing Mechanism to ensure that fuel prices reflect their actual cost.
“It is important for us to stabilise fuel supply and pricing under the Automatic Pricing Mechanism so that fuel prices do not adjust whenever the landed cost changes by more than five percent, either up or down,” she said.
NOCMA Chief Executive Officer, Clement Kanyama said the empty fuel reserves are expected to be restored soon as the country begins to receive adequate supplies: “We were not able to bring in the actual amount of fuel needed daily on the market, which led to shortages.
“But now that the routes we use are open, we are receiving fuel,” Kanyama, while urging the Minister to engage with Mozambican authorities to ease operational delays at the port of Beira, where fuel vessels often wait for several days before offloading.
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