FUEL SHORTAGE FEARS AVERTED

MBABANE – Oil companies have nothing to fear as the fuel situation in the country will soon normalise.

This is according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, through its Communications Officer, Sikelela Khoza. Khoza said he had previously highlighted that there was fuel shortage in some parts of the country, but recently the problem had been averted, following government’s intervention by granting the companies special permits to ensure they could procure fuel from Mozambique as opposed to only sourcing it from South Africa. This is because the floods in KwaZulu-Natal (SA) had caused a slight delay in the delivery of fuel to the country as the main fuel depot is located there, and most oil companies in the country source fuel from SA.

Situation

Khoza said government’s efforts to salvage the situation were so far successful, as oil companies which had come forward had been granted a special permit to source fuel from Mozambique. “Oil companies can still apply for a special permit to source fuel from Mozambique if need be. However, we have been made aware that numerous trucks made it into the country in the past two days to deliver fuel, therefore, the rainy days are behind us for now,” he said. Khoza reiterated that although many deliveries had been made, the process would be gradual, especially for the filling stations which had experienced a shortage in the past weekend.

Worry

He reiterated though that there was nothing to worry about. “As you are aware, the situation in South Africa is normalising as well, so once all systems in the neighbouring country are back in action, the permits will be suspended for those that had applied for temporary relief,” he said. Yesterday, South Africa’s Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, announced that there was no need to panic about the availability of fuel as there was no risk of a shortage. Gordhan said Bayhead Road in KZN, which provided access to the port and Island View, had been affected by the floods. He said a large crater formed on the inbound lanes on Bayhead as a result of the floods, and would take two to three weeks to repair. Gordhan further said that due to the damage at Bayhead, permission was granted to use the route via the Bluff area to allow tankers to transport fuel.

“This has ensured that fuel is being supplied in eThekwini and KZN and, as far as this is concerned, there is accessibility for fuel and there is no risk of a fuel shortage,” he said. The SA minister said operations were affected at the Durban Port by the flooding, after the debris had entered the harbor area. On Saturday, it was reported that a fuel shortage was looming in Eswatini, with representatives from oil companies stating that the country did not have enough fuel in its reserves to see it through. Sales and Marketing Director for Galp Eswatini Fannie Mthethwa was quoted as having said the probability of the country running out of fuel in the next few days was real and high. Total Garage’s Sean Stewart also said there would be a slight delay of fuel supply in the country due to the ongoing floods in Durban, South Africa (SA) which was the main refinery.

Meanwhile, despite some filling stations reported to have run out of fuel in some parts of the country, in Mbabane, operations were normal except for Total Gwamile Filling Station, which was affected since last Friday till Tuesday morning. This filling station was later seen operating after a truck from Mozambique delivered fuel of about 15 000 litres. Motorists at around noon, started flocking the filling station again to fuel their cars. This was observed after the visit to some filling stations (Galp Fourways Filling Station, Engen, Total Gwamile and Total Sheffiled) at around 9:50am. During the morning hours, it was a different case to Total Gwamile Filling Station as fuel attendants were only found assisting motorists in need of diesel whereas those who were in need of unleaded petrol were turned back or referred to Total Sheffield.

Shortage

Some of the employees at Total Gwamile Filling Station said the issue of fuel shortage was affecting everyone. They said the main problem was the recent heavy rainstorms that severely hit the KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and making transportation of fuel to Eswatini difficult. They said they believed that the fuel might be available before the end of the day of business today (yesterday). The Galp Fourways had normal operations. When the supervisor Mica Dlamini was asked whether they do had enough fuel to render to the customers, he said motorists must not panic as everything was under control.

Usual  

He said to them it was business as usual. He further indicated that they had enough fuel to service motorists. He said he did not know about the other filling stations. “What I can say is that here at Galp Filling Station, we have enough fuel which will last for the longest time. Even our reservoirs are full and, therefore, we have not yet encountered any shortage when it comes to fuel. I can even take you to the reservoir to see for yourself. Maybe you can check from the other stations,” said Dlamini.

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