By Mulengera Reporters
Canon Dr Ruth Nankabirwa, Uganda’s Minister of Energy, Petroleum & Mineral Resources, says that she is angry and disappointed with some of the fuel companies from Kenya, which operate in Uganda.
Nankabirwa says that she is angry that some of these companies have clandestinely been sneaking out of Uganda large quantities of fuel (both petrol and diesel) back home to aid their sister companies in Kenya, to enable them cope with the acute fuel scarcities which the ongoing US/Israel war against Iran has occasioned.
The war caused Iran to engage in asymmetric defensive and global economy-sabotage tactics which resulted into the mining and closure of the Strait of Hormuz and thereby constraining the passage of fuel-carrying vessels to Africa and the rest of the world. The strait is used to facilitate the movement of fuel from the Gulf countries to other parts of the world including Africa, Asia and Europe etc.
Nankabirwa says that her Ministry is going to sanction these Kenyan companies which have been sneaking fuel back to Kenya because such actions contradict their licensing conditions and requirements.
While on Kabaka’s CBS radio, Nankabirwa didn’t give details but said something will have to be done to sanction the impugned companies whose imprudent actions she said had to an extent contributed to the increase in fuel pump prices which Uganda had clearly mitigated against long time ago.
From what it was, the fuel prices have lately been increasing and thereby discomforting motorists and this has culminated into pressure being mounted onto the GoU. Currently, a litre is averaging at between Shs5,000 & Shs5,200 for diesel and between Shs5,300 and Shs5,700 for petrol.
Nankabirwa told millions of CBS listeners that this wouldn’t be happening if the Kenyan fuel dealers had not engaged in treacherous conduct in order to aid their sister companies back home.
She called on Ugandans to be patient and accept putting up with a little bit of pain which she said is going to be temporary. She revealed that in a few days time, Uganda’s huge consignment of 119m litres of fuel is in transit and will be docking at Mombasa in a few days time. She explained that this will reduce the scarcity of fuel in Uganda and thereby stabilizing or bringing the pump prices down a bit. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
