BLACK MARKET TRADERS CASH IN ON FUEL CRISIS

MANZINI – Take it, or leave it!

While hundreds of emaSwati scrambled to the nearest filling stations around the country amid a fuel crisis over the holidays, black market traders grabbed the opportunity with both hands by selling petrol using social media platforms. Since last Wednesday, filling stations have been crammed with large numbers of motorists who wanted to fill up; amid reports that fuel was in short supply in Durban in South Africa, where many fuel retailers get their fuel from. Since then, motorists abandoned their Christmas celebrations as they headed to their nearest filling stations, while others were left to drive several kilometres as their nearest filling stations experienced fuel shortages.

According to motorists interviewed over the past weekend, they realised there was a fuel challenge when they were unable to fill up at their nearest filling stations and when they went to the one nearest to that one, there was no fuel there as well. Many motorists resorted to using containers to fill up additional fuel, as they decided to park their cars, purchase containers from nearby vendors and continued to join queues for fuel. Reports by Saturday evening stated that almost all the filling stations in the Manzini Central Business District were without fuel save for Galp Filling Station along the Central Distributors Road.

In Matsapha, fuel was said to have only been available at the Total Garage near the Matsapha Municipality and at Mahhala, where motorists crammed. Some motorists were seen carrying several containers, stating that they anticipated that the fuel shortage would continue throughout the week, and that they wanted to be prepared in the event that it did. While many likened the situation to the Zimbabwean fuel crisis, black market traders, who were monitoring the situation, grabbed the opportunity with both hands as by the weekend, they were seen advertising petrol at inflated prices on various social media platforms. A majority of the black market traders sold a 5 litre of petrol for E100, with the price at almost E20 per litre. It is worth mentioning that currently the normal  price of petrol per litre stands at E12.45.

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