Scramble for fuel has worsened in most parts of the country as motorists were spotted in long queues to buy the product in service stations.
A spot check by YFM Online in a number of filling stations in the cities of Lilongwe and Mzuzu on Monday established that most of them have run out of petrol leaving a lot of motorists stranded.
Filling stations in Nkhotakota and Nkhata-Bay districts have also not been supplied with fuel for the past four days.
The situation has led to growing fears among the general public that the situation is slowly turning into a fuel crisis.
Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) Communications Manager Fitina Khonje while acknowledging the challenge, was quick to say that trucks hauling fuel are expected to get into the country on Monday.
“It is indeed true that some areas in the country haven’t had fuel in the last hours, however we think what is most important for people to know is that most of the filling stations will receive their supply today, so they should be able replenished today,” Khonje said.
Khonje assured the public not to panic as the energy regulator is working around the clock to address the challenge.
She said: “We would like to have a specified time when we are going to outline the whole situation but we think at the moment what is most critical is for people to know when is fuel going to be available on the market.”
But in a statement, the National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) said the country has both petrol and diesel, and continues to receive fuel imports from both the port of Dar es salaam in Tanzania and Beira in Mozambique despite the shortage of foreign exchange.
NOCMA said it is aware that over the past 48 hours the country has experienced sporadic location-based fuel shortages, especially in Lilongwe and parts of the central region which had led to panic-buying.
NOCMA has assured the public that the fuel situation in Lilongwe and any other parts in the country are is being corrected as product is being released from the Strategic Fuel Reserves as well as from other importers to ensure sustainable availability of fuel at all service stations in Lilongwe and throughout the country.
