APA-Lilongwe (Malawi) Malawian motorists have endured long queues at service stations in the capital Lilongwe and other cities over the past few days amid crippling fuel shortages that authorities are blaming on logistical bottlenecks.
Long queues of disgruntled motorists have been observed since the end of last week at the few service stations in Lilongwe that still had fuel.
Similar scenes have been reported in other cities such as Blantyre and Mzuzu as fuel pumps have run dry across the country.
In a statement late Monday, the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA), however, assured motorists that “the fuel industry is making every effort to stabilise the flow of fuel supplies.”
“However, the country will still experience fuel stockouts in some service stations this week. The Labour Day holiday has some impact on the delivery logistics, and this is in addition to challenges registered last week,” MERA said.
The regulator blamed the shortages on delays in loading fuel at ports in Mozambique and Tanzania.
It noted that despite the challenges, stock replenishment would gradually be scaled up and more deliveries are expected from Tuesday onwards.
“Therefore, the situation is expected to normalise within a few days.”
This is the second time since August 2022 that Malawi has faced crippling fuel shortages, which government critics blame on low levels of foreign currency in the country.
JN/APA