The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) has approved an increase in fuel prices following almost a month with no adjustment in the price of fuel. The new fuel prices are effective Wednesday, 05 August 2020.
Diesel has now gone up to ZWL $83.36 per litre, an increase of ZWL $11.74 from the previous price of ZWL $71.62 per litre. Blended Petrol has gone up to ZWL$93.15 per litre. This is an increase of ZWL $30.38 from the previous price of ZWL$62.77 per litre.
However, for those buying in foreign currency, the United States Dollar prices have not changed and remain unchanged at US$1.09 per litre of diesel and US$1.28 per litre of blended petrol.
Below is the full statement from ZERA :
Fuel prices had not increased as a result of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) foreign currency action system introduced in June.
ZERA had previously announced that fuel prices would increase on a weekly basis but that has not been the case.
The current fuel price hike comes at a time when Zimbabwe is experiencing shortages of the precious liquid with motorists having to endure long queues.
Speaking on the recent fuel prices, Deputy Minister of Energy, Magna Mudyiwa blamed the lack of foreign currency for the fuel shortages. Speaking to state media, Mudyiwa said,
The fuel shortages are not unique to Bulawayo only but are a nationwide phenomenon. This is due to forex shortages we are experiencing. The national cake is too small; a lot of sectors need forex, and while fuel is one if the prioritised sectors, of late Government has been diverting the larger chunk of resources towards the Covid-19 fight.
So resultantly, some sectors may suffer. To access fuel at Msasa, Government must have paid for that bonded fuel. So, the public must expect such challenges as the cake is so small and must be distributed among different sectors to keep the economy functional.
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