FUEL CRISIS IN KITWE PERSISTS AS IT ENTERS WEEK TWO

The fuel crisis in Kitwe has entered week two, with the local people continuing to search for the commodity in the city, with long queues witnessed at a few filling stations that have fuel.

Only one, Wusakile Service Station, had petrol as of 16:15 hours yesterday, out of the 10 sampled filling stations in Ndeke, Wusakile, Nkana east, Chimwemwe, Buchi, and Parklands areas.

And Kitwe residents have expressed dissatisfaction with the ongoing situation, which started last week, with some blaming the lack of consistency to the monthly pump price reviews that have allegedly caused disruptions in planning.

They have told Phoenix News that they are spending long hours refueling at filling stations where the commodity is available while others say the persistent shortage has affected their finances as they have to refill in larger amounts due to the uncertainty in the availability of fuel.

Despite the energy regulations board’s announcement last week that Kitwe has sufficient inventories of petrol, the local people continue to line up for hours in search of the commodity, while taxi drivers have bemoaned the negative impact this has on their business.

Efforts to get a comment from Energy Minister Peter Kapala has failed since last week as his phone has been unanswered.