Presbyterian Church in Ireland - Mission Overseas - MALAWI: Fuel crisis now critical

1st December 2009

Malawi is suffering crippling fuel shortages because it is running out of foreign currency as a result of Zimbabwe's failure to repay a loan granted in 2007.

The problem, which began some four weeks ago, has become steadily worse as fuel becomes scarcer by the day.

Fears are now very real that this crisis will suffocate the economy, if a solution is not found very soon.

Neil Kennedy reports from Blantyre, in the South of the country:

“Life for many is grinding to a halt as there's been no regular petrol or diesel supply for over two weeks now. The queues at the filling stations are huge! One of our friends waited over 24 hours for the tanker to come, only to be told the fuel it contained was contaminated! Life for those without vehicles has got harder too - as prices for all imported or transported goods go up.”

It seems that motorists are increasingly abandoning their cars at filling stations in the hope that they will be served once fuel supplies arrive.

With only six per cent of Malawians having access to electricity, the vast majority depend on charcoal for cooking and on paraffin for lighting. The shortage of diesel, petrol and paraffin is now critical and is affecting all sections of the community.

To make matters worse, costs have risen dramatically, to double the normal price or more, making it even harder for an already hard-pressed and largely very poor population.