Fuel shortage persists in Malawi
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on The Nation Malawi
The fuel shortage continues in Malawi despite the deadline set by Energy Minister Jean Mathanga to stabilise supplies. Several stations in Lilongwe and Blantyre remain without petrol, while diesel is available at a few outlets, The Nation Malawi reports.
The fuel shortage in Malawi is continuing despite the deadline set by Energy Minister Jean Mathanga for supply to stabilise on Tuesday 27 October. Service stations in Lilongwe and Blantyre were still without petrol or diesel, according to checks by the daily newspaper The Nation.
In Blantyre, only one of the eight stations surveyed had diesel and none was selling petrol. In Lilongwe, several stations in the Kawale and Biwi neighbourhoods, as well as outlets in the city centre, had neither petrol nor diesel. Shortages were also reported in Thyolo, Salima, Mangochi and Liwonde.
The Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) delivery schedule provided for 115 stations to be supplied that day: 10 in the North, 62 in the Centre and 43 in the South. This was more than the 88 stations scheduled for Wednesday and the 84 for Tuesday, but fewer than the 126 announced for Monday.
In Blantyre, motorcycle taxi driver Patrick Mambo said he had filled up at about 1pm and afterwards could not find any station selling petrol. Motorists are organising on WhatsApp groups to exchange information about available stocks. The 31 million litres of fuel supply announced on 27 October has not prevented shortages from continuing, after the country declared the fuel crisis a national emergency.
