Times Of Swaziland: TRAFFIC JAMS AS MOTORISTS QUEUE FOR FUEL

TRAFFIC JAMS AS MOTORISTS QUEUE FOR FUEL
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BY STANLEY KHUMALO on 07/07/2021 08:47:00


MANZINI – Motorists found themselves faced with another headache of queueing
for fuel yesterday.
Traffic was at a standstill in Manzini as streets used one lane due to long
queues for fuel. This was because there has been fuel shortages since last week
when the pro-democracy protests culminated into vandalism, looting and torching
of structures. This resulted in the disruption of fuel deliveries as most fuel
trucks were stuck at points of entry. In Manzini, the fuel shortage in most
filling stations resulted in traffic along Ngwane Street being at a standstill
as vehicles were abandoned in the road on Monday after the motorists queued for
hours to refuel at Galp Filling Station adjacent to Tracar.
Yesterday morning, security personnel had trouble controlling traffic as the
cars had filled two lanes still seeking to get fuel. It was the same case at the
Galp Filling Station along Nkoseluhlaza Street. Also in anticipation of getting
fuel, vehicles had formed two lanes leading to the entry of the fuel service
station. However, some motorists abandoned the mission later on in the day and
started queueing at the Riverside Total Filling Station. At this service
station, they parked for hours before they fuelled at around 2:30pm. At the
Total Filling Station at Nazarene, fuel was delivered at around 1pm after
motorists had been queueing since morning. At Moneni Bonjour Total Filling
Station, employees were found seated and chatting while members of the security
forces stood by. Instead, management of the filling station had set a barrier
line preventing motorists from entering the service station as there was no
fuel.
Also, at the Galp Filling Station located next to Manzini Central High School,
motorists formed long queues seeking to get fuel, but there was none. At
Mhlaleni, traffic started at KaKhoza traffic lights. However, during the lunch
hour, pumps were still dry.
On the other hand, in Matsapha, traffic started at Eteni overhead bridge as
motorists trailed towards three filling stations – Rob’s Total Filling
Station and Big Tree Galp Filling Station. At Big Tree Galp Filling Station, by
2pm, there was still no fuel since Sunday, but only diesel. At Rob’s Total
Filling Station, cars blocked the free flow of traffic at the Mahhala traffic
circle as they sought entry into Matsamo Shopping Complex. Traffic moved at a
snail’s pace while fuel attendants were running around refuelling cars. The
same applied at Total Rob’s Garage which is located near Star Paint. Besides
the fuel shortage, both towns were abuzz as businesses and people seemed to have
heeded  governments call to return to work. Shops were operating normally save
for those that were vandalised during the pro-democracy protests last week.