Uganda’s cabinet is today Tuesday set to reconvene to find a long lasting solution to the fuel question.
President Yoweri Museveni and the ministers are expected to pass the last ressolution on the seemingly unstoppable escalating fuel prices, which have caused unforetold miseries to Ugandans, and worsened the already desparate economic situation, exercabated by negative effects of Covid-19.
Yesterday, cabinet convened to deliberate over the same issue, but miserably failed to reach a compromise, due to pararrel decisions and ideas, which prompted President Museveni to call for a second meeting, that is slated for today afternoon.
Speaking to the press earlier today, the minister of Energy and Mineral Development Ruth Nankabirwa said they have dispatched a team of experienced experts to different parts of the country, to investigate and probe various fuel companies, which have reportely refused to cut down fuel prices, even after being instructed to do so by government.
Minister Nankabirwa said today’s cabinet meeting will decide the final and appropriate course of action, including serious reprisals and penalties for those companies, which have decided to hoodwink the public through levying extremely high charges, yet fuel prices on world market have not changed.
“Just like yesterday, we talked about it during the cabinet meeting and we will finalise it today. And what I am sure of, this will end in good faith, all conditions will be lifted, such that Ugandans are not adversely affected,” Said minister Nankabirwa.
She also echoed a vengeance tone, warning that government would exact serious penalties to all those who continue to hike prices, even when the prevailing conditions do not necessitate such a move.
“I want to assure Ugandans that Cabinet will end this today, today Tuesday, Cabinet convened yesterday, discussing various matters of public realm and we are going back today. I want to warn all those who deliberately increase fuel prices, those who have selfishly decided to hike prices to alarming levels, that this situation is not permanent. They will face us because we regulate them,” she warned.
There is mistrust, tension, suspicion and worry among the Ugandan populace on the future of their businesses, that is threatened by escalating fuel prices.
This has been worsened by several warnings from experts, who continue to assert that the situation is nowhere near to normalizing. Some fuel stations like Stabex fuel station in Hoima city have already started charging as high as Shs. 12,000 for a litre of petrol, while others have been forced to cease business.
The current crisis is attributed to long queues of fuel trucks at Malaba, Uganda’s border with kenya, and other crossing points into Uganda, which is also attributed to incompetence of personnel at checkpoints as many truck drivers have decried the lowest pace, at which they operate when clearing them to transport fuel into Uganda.
However, the real cause of this fuel crisis is greatly attributed to apocalyptic consequences of sporadic protests by truck drivers in past months at Uganda’s border crossings, due to hiked charges of Covid-19 testing, metted against them.
International economic experts have singled out one major cause of escalating fuel prices which unfortunately is not alluded to by most local experts in Uganda.As different countries eased Covid-19 restrictions, demand for consumables increased. This sparked off a high demand for fuel to run industries in states like China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Spain, leading to low fuel supply to Africa countries, causing scarcity hence high prices.
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