No motorist will be refunded from Saudi fuel – Chola

Government says the demand by UPND Leader Hakainde Hichilema that it should refund all motorists charged more than K5 per liter of fuel from the recent crude procured from Saudi Arabia, is misplaced.

Energy Permanent Secretary Emeldah Chola says much as government procured the crude from Saudi Arabia cheaply, no motorist in the Country was over charged.

Brigadier General Chola has explained that in pricing the Saudi Arabia fuel, government took into consideration the cost of the logistics that were not covered in the oil procurement loan.

In an interview with QTV News via telephone, General Chola says government paid for the cost of transporting the crude from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania into Zambia.

She says when the calculations were made, the cost of transporting the said crude was almost equal to the cost government has been incurring from procuring crude from other sources.

General Chola states that this explains why the price of fuel in the Country, in the less than 11 days that the Saudi Arabia consignment lasted, did not change.

The Energy Permanent Secretary says government will therefore not refund any motorist charged the normal price of fuel from this consignment.