Spoornet releases locos to ferry fuel to Zambia

Illegal private vendors cash in ALAN PEAT SPOORNET HAS released locomotives to urgently transport fuel into Zambia as the country has faced a critical fuel shortage Ð with the Indeni Oil Refinery having been forced to close last month due to no oil and no naphtha (a chemical used in the refinery). Although it has now resumed operations, most of the filling stations in Lusaka have remained dry for over two weeks, according to the Times of Zambia - with only one stocking diesel for account holders only, and tour operators having to cancel most of their bookings. In Ndola, only a few filling stations still held stocks, and the Mobil Filling Station in Kansenshi also admitted it had been without fuel for two weeks. In response to the emergency, government ministers have been visiting the neighbouring countries of Tanzania, Botswana and even fuelÐstarved Zimbabwe to negotiate the smooth passage of fuel. Meanwhile, illegal private vendors have emerged in the fuel market, with the Times reporting that Livingstone residents have turned their houses into fuel vending centres Ð dispensing fuel in 20-litre containers, and often selling to desperate motorists at night to avoid detection. However, ZambiaÕs trade and industry minister, Dipak Patel, has just announced that the situation will soon be normalised.