Kampala-The Government will not be able to regulate the skyrocketing fuel prices but is more concerned with steady fuel flow to avert a total lack of it in the country, Irene Pauline Batebe, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy has said.
Batebe’s response follows concerns from lawmakers sitting on the Government Assurance and Implementation Committee who questioned the Ministry over its failure to curb the skyrocketing fuel prices in the country.
In April 2022, David Bahati and his counterpart Peter Lokeris, the State Ministers for Industry, and Energy respectively presented a statement in the House committing that the Government would prevail over the escalating fuel prices in the country.
The two Ministers committed that the Government would take stringent punitive measures, including among others the revocation of trade licenses against fuel dealers found hoarding fuel and taking advantage of the ever-increasing fuel prices.
But the Committee led by Joseph Ssewungu Gonzaga, the Kalungu West County is scrutinizing the assurances, promises, and undertakings by the Government.
Ssewungu tasked Batebe, who was on Wednesday accompanied by Lokeris and State Minister of Trade and Industries Harriet Ntabazi to explain if they had issued any punitive measures, but the trio remained silent.
Florence Kabugho, the Kasese District Woman Representative questioned why Ministry officials were saying fuel supply is stable and yet prices remain high and ever-escalating.
Batebe explained that the Ministry’s focus is to ensure a steady flow of fuel since the worst situation could be a total absence of fuel in the country ahead of the upcoming Kenyan elections slated for August 9th, 2022.
She revealed that the government through the Uganda National Oil Company – UNOC has ordered for eight million liters using trade finance instruments to support sufficient fuel stocks. The lawmakers were concerned that bigger fuel stations such as Total and Shell were hoarding fuel for the exploitation of Ugandans.
Connie Galiwango, the Mbale City Woman MP, said the fuel prices are different almost in all districts. She cited Tanzania where a petrol station in Mwanza has the same price as the ones in Dar-es-Salaam but wondered why Government tolerates different pump prices in Uganda.
Agago District Woman Representative Beatrice Akello Akori said countries like South Sudan and DRC Congo which also import fuel from the same inlets as Uganda have cheaper fuel prices and yet they have longer routes compared to Uganda.
In February, the Government had pledged to organize the dealers and stakeholders in the petroleum industry to discuss a way forward on the high costs by forming an association but to no avail by far. Fuel prices in the country specifically petrol and diesel have continued to skyrocket, currently standing between Shillings 6,200 to 6,400.
According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the price of diesel increased by 54 percent by end of May 2022, while petrol recorded an increase of 30 percent. Apart from the local and regional factors, prices of fuel are mainly driven by the changes in the prices of crude oil in the international market.
Source: URN
