Drivers get fuel price relief.

The topical debate among Zimbabwean citizens had been the increase in the price of fuel. Motorists had gone into panic mode after some service stations resorted to pegging the price of the special commodity at $7.98 per litre resulting in many abandoning their vehicles.

Following a meeting held by Minister of Energy Fortune Pasi with key players in the fuel market there was a bit of a relief for motorists after it was agreed the price of fuel should remain at $4.95. Petrol has however become scarce with many of the service stations not selling the commodity. On Thursday evening many service stations were dry with many motorists having to drive as far as Chisipite in order to fill up their tanks.

The correct price of fuel has become very topical following pronouncements made by Zera which stated that the price of fuel will now be determined by the interbank rate. With forex in short supply on the interbank platform some players have however chosen to peg their prices at the parallel market rate which has gone beyond 1 is to 8.

With fuel susidies removed by government it will be interesting to see what kind of a long lasting solution government can come up with in order to stabilise prices. Governement recently announced a slash in the prices of Zupco fares with the public paying just 0.75 cents and 0.50 cents depending on distance. This is meant to cushion the public but the biggest concern remains Zupco’s capacity to service all urban routes.