MATHEWS MALAZIKA
Lusaka
PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema is working round the clock to cushion Zambians from rising fuel prices, with State House acknowledging the growing pressure on households, businesses and the agriculture sector.
State House Chief Communication Strategist Whitney Mulobela said geopolitical instability in the Middle East has pushed up international oil prices, with consequences for Zambia, which imports all its refined petroleum products.
Mr Mulobela said Government understands that rising fuel prices translate into higher transport fares and production costs, particularly for farmers who depend on diesel during the planting season.
He said the frustration following October’s K6 fuel price increase and the latest November adjustment is understandable.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Mr Mulobela said Brent crude has reached approximately US$112 per barrel, about 73 percent higher than a year earlier.
He also cited attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20 percent of the world’s crude oil passes, as contributing to global supply concerns.
“When the world price moves, we feel it. President Hakainde Hichilema and his Government do not take it lightly, and they are working round the clock on it,” Mr Mulobela said.
He said Government previously suspended excise duty on fuel and zero-rated value added tax (VAT) between April and September this year to protect consumers from international price increases.
Mr Mulobela said the measures, combined with Energy Regulation Board (ERB) price-smoothing interventions, helped keep Zambia’s fuel prices among the lowest in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
Pump prices were maintained between K25 and K28 per litre and even declined in August.
Mr Mulobela disclosed that the interventions cost the Treasury approximately US$200 million in foregone revenue, while diesel stocks were maintained at about 60 days of cover.
He explained that the fuel tax relief was discontinued to protect funding for essential programmes, including free education, the enhanced Constituency Development Fund (CDF), school feeding and Social Cash Transfer programmes. https://enews.daily-mail.co.zm/welcome/home
