A bold decision by the President of Uganda to stop buying petroleum products from middlemen in neighboring Kenya is expected to drive fuel prices down in the East African nation.
All along, Ugandan officials were buying refined petroleum products from middlemen in Kenya, pushing prices on the higher side.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni accused civil servants in the country, saying: “When we came into government, we assumed that the civil servants would deal with money, administration, procurement, and we would deal with policy, ideology, strategy and security.,”
Sadly, President Museveni said the country has been let down by civil servants who were put in charge of importing fuel into the country.
Uganda imports petroleum products of the magnitude of 2.5 billion litres per annum valued at about US$2 billion.
“Without my knowledge, our wonderful people were buying this huge quantity of petroleum products from middlemen in Kenya,” noted the President.
“A whole country buying from middlemen in Kenya, or anywhere else is amazing but true. Why not buy from the refineries abroad and transport through Kenya and Tanzania, cutting out the cost created by middlemen? Those involved were not bothered by these issues.
“I have discussed this with H.E Ruto, the President of Kenya, and our delegation is now in Dar-es-Salaam, discussing with Her Excellency Samia Suluhu,” Museveni revealed.
Museveni went on to give a breakdown of the cost of the fuel from the middlemen that Uganda has been buying from compared to the refinery prices, as follows:
Diesel:
- Middlemen’s price – $118;
- Price from bulk suppliers or refiners -$83;
Petrol:
- Middlemen’s price -$97.5;
- Bulk suppliers or refiners’ price-$61.5;
Kerosene:
- Middlemen’s price – $114;
- Bulk suppliers or refiners’ price – $79
These, according to the President, are prices when the products have arrived at the East African Ports.
“You can see the huge loss Uganda has been incurring on account of our wonderful people,” the President said.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
