Who is to blame for fuel shortages in Juba?
By Madhieu Thiep Madhieu, Juba, South Sudan
September 11, 2017 (SSB) — Fuel scarcity in the capital Juba and the Country at large had been on and off for quite a number of months, right from 2016 when the country’s currency lost its value until today. Many businesses including government offices in the Country have been severely affected by lack of fuel to run the self-owned generators.
Public transport has mostly been devastated by fuel crises forcing the majority of the civil population to park their cars and resorted to footing to and from work places. Students (pupils), elderly and the sick are the most disadvantaged groups, affected by this endless fuel crisis as it is harder for them to reach their respective places of services at the appropriate time.
To make matters worse, the Juba taxi drivers have mercilessly increased their bus fare beyond expectations and the government seems not to care for the humble cry of the Citizens. It’s very unfortunate that our taxi drivers occasionally base their increment on fuel shortages in the petrol stations, but could not reduce the bus fare even though there is enough fuel in the market.
It is so eerie Indeed! A lot of petrol stations in Juba are just like statues; either they are flooded with rain waters or completely shut down due to fuel crises. So, who is to blame for fuel shortages in Juba? Should the blame go to Nile pet company responsible for fuel import or those recidivists selling it at black market?
I think in my own perception, the Government is to carry this blame because at first, the authority erroneously gave license to Nile pet Company as the only law firm to supply the country with fuel and denied private owned- companies. Private companies were supposed to be permitted to purchase and import their own fuel so that there is the adequate supply of fuel in the Country.
Fuel shortages have had serious adverse effects on price levels especially in a landlocked country like South Sudan that has repeatedly suffered from prolonged fuel shortages and price spikes. By allowing more companies to import enough fuel, the market will be more competitive and therefore, shall itself reduce high food prices as a result of higher transport costs and higher prices of diesel to operate generators, tractors and irrigation pumps.
For the poor citizens who use transport services, higher transport costs hindered their daily activities and as such decreases effective income. Thus, availability of fuel will make public transport cheaper and afford to common citizens who rely on small earnings.
The government should ensure that sufficient fuel stocks are an often-used mechanism to protect against supply disruptions. I know that establishing such stocks is expensive, and as a result, plans to establish security storage capacity are not necessarily implemented for lack of financing but the Government should try its extreme best to avert the culture of fuel shortages in the Country.
It is so much embarrassing that our country has no access to public electricity supply due to lack of fuel, despite the availability of power facilities erected previously by the then Sudan Government. The Government ought to redouble its efforts although there are hardships in the Country to supply electricity to the residents of Juba in order to avoid daily scrambling for fuel.
This will not only supply the power to the city but shall also generate revenue for the Government via electricity taxes. We must learn to develop our energy sector; otherwise, we will not be happy to continue living in the city of noisy micro-generators.
The question of who to blame for fuel shortages shall finally rest on the neck of our Government if there are no proper measures to address fuel crises.
You can reach the author at madhienthiep@gmail.com
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