Mozambique Admits Gasoline Difficulties for Bank Guarantees

Mozambique's Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy today admitted that gas stations are having difficulty obtaining guarantees from commercial banks to make products available due to the shortage of foreign currency, but he assured that there is fuel in the country.

There is fuel in the country, but some gas stations are having difficulty obtaining guarantees from commercial banks so that the fuel (...) can be made available to the market", said the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Estêvão Pale, on the sidelines of a retreat for the department's staff to discuss legislation for the sector, in Ponta d'Ouro, Maputo province, southern Mozambique. The issue at hand is the lack of fuel at gas stations, already reported in the cities of Pemba, in Cabo Delgado province, and in Beira, in Sofala province, leading to price speculation. "But this process [guarantees from commercial banks] is being handled, not only with commercial banks but also at the central bank, which guarantees that there is enough currency for this", Estêvão Pale also said.

"At the moment we are facing some fluctuations in fuel supply (...), what I can say in relation to these fluctuations is that at some point some filling stations will be left without one of the fuels", explained the president of the Association of Fuel Retailers of Mozambique (Arcomoc), Nelson Mavimbe, in an interview with Lusa.

The Mozambican President, Daniel Chapo, even pointed out the use of maritime transport for fuel from Nampula to Cabo Delgado: "We may have challenges in Cabo Delgado such as the issue related to fuel, and in this regard we are already organizing ourselves so that, via cabotage, via sea, we can load the fuel from the port of Nacala [Nampula] to Cabo Delgado and this loading will be possible until we restore the route".