Mozambique: Frelimo demands measures to deal with fuel crisis

A week ago, the government assured the public that, despite the US/Israeli aggression against Iran, and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Mozambique is in no imminent danger of running out of liquid fuels. Many motorists did not believe such assurances, and there was panic buying of petrol and diesel at fuel pumps in Maputo and the neighbouring city of Matola last Friday and Saturday. The queues of vehicles in Maputo have subsided but there are alarming reports from elsewhere in the country, Thus, on Thursday, the independent television station STV reported that in the city of Xai-Xai, capital of Gaza province, only two pumps had any fuel to sell.

Meeting in Maputo on Wednesday, the Frelimo Political Commission took a much less sanguine position on the fuel crisis than the government. The Political Commission demanded that the government take “urgent measures” to deal with possible fuel shortages. In a statement read to the press by Frelimo spokesperson Pedro Guiliche, the Commission instructed the government “to adopt short and medium term mechanisms to confront the current fuel crisis, resulting from the conflict in the Middle East, the effects from which are being felt throughout the world”.

The Political Commission told the government “to ensure the availability of sufficient reserves of fuel to keep supplies stable, while monitoring the evolution of the Middle East conflict”. As a short term measure, the Commission ordered the government to guarantee the availability of foreign exchange to import fuel and other essential goods. The government should “use carefully the Stabilisation Fund, directing the resources to cushion shocks, focusing on protecting the most vulnerable segments of society”.

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Prices should be continually monitored, it added, to prevent stocks from running out, and avoid any speculation. It also called for an increase in fuel storage capacity. So far there have been no calls for fuel rationing.

Yet this is a measure that Mozambique has used at previous times of severe fuel shortages. A rationing system was in force in Maputo in the early 1980s, and was probably key in keeping transport in the city running.

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