ZIMBABWE'S fuel imports grew by 73% to 2 345 billion litres last year, with most of it coming from the private sector, figures obtained from the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) showed.
According to Zera chairperson David Madzikanda, Zimbabwe imported 1,734 billion litres of diesel last year against 850 million litres the previous year.
Petrol imports stood at 614 million litres last year against 510 million litres in 2021.
“I would like to thank the private sector for importing the bulk of this fuel using their free funds. The government complimented this effort by making foreign currency available especially for government entities as well as to the public,” said Madzikanda, who spoke during Zera’s 10th annual general meeting recently.
He said Zera will be reviewing the cost structure of fuel to ensure continued viability.
Madzikanda said more retail sites were being licenced, stating that the sector was experiencing significant growth.
Zera also recorded an increase in the uptake of gas as consumers turned to the product due to load shedding.
A total of 59,9 million kilogrammes of liquefied petroleum gas was imported in 2022 against 56,8 million kgs in 2021.
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Zera is encouraging the use of gas for cooking in order to reduce deforestation.
Madzikanda told businesdigest that the authority will be setting up a tariff structure for gas in rural areas, which will encourage people to switch from firewood.
“We are hoping to have surplus revenue to expand to rural areas. We are looking at putting in very cheap service stations and gas facilities just like the ones we have in urban areas,” he said.
“We also hope that we may structure some mechanism like in electricity, the first 50 units of electricity are priced very lowly. We can also have something similar for the rural areas.
“We will obviously have to overcome a lot of challenges because culturally, people are used to using firewood. The processes have already begun and are now with the Ministry of Finance.
“We really hope they approve this year as we do not want to only make an impact on the electricity side but also in terms of deforestation, keeping in mind the issues of carbon credits.”
The Zera chairperson, however, reiterated that the authority will be addressing problems associated with unauthorised gas sales on the market.
