GOVERNMENT has said that the production of fuel at Indeni Petroleum Refinery in Ndola will come to full capacity over the next four days.
Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development Christopher Yaluma says Government has devised interim measures to sustain fuel supply and end the petrol shortage experienced in some parts of the country, over the past few days.
Indeni is currently being fed with crude stocks by the 12-inch pipeline while the shut down eight-inch pipeline is being repaired.
Mr Yaluma said at a media briefing in Lusaka yesterday that finished petroleum products are currently being transported into the country and that another consignment of crude stock is soon scheduled to arrive in Tanzania to beef up the current stocks.
He said Tazama has sufficient fuel stocks for distribution to all parts of the country and that delays by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to transport fuel to various destinations are what is causing temporary shortages in some parts of the country.
The minister said Government will however, ask OMCs other than those specifically assigned to respective towns, to help distribute fuel countrywide to avoid any further shortage.
Mr Yaluma said the Tazama pipelines are old and easily develop leakages, causing disruptions in the pumping of crude stocks.
And Mr Yaluma said Government is expected to appraise the cost implications of the repairs of the pipeline in about two days.
He said it is unfortunate that some political leaders are attempting to gain mileage out of the fuel shortage.
Mr Yaluma said it is not government’s fault that the country is experiencing a fuel shortage because the bursting of the oil pipeline was anticipated and could not be rectified in the past.
“Fuel will be available and we want the Zambian people to understand that. We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused to Zambians and all the people using petroleum products, which were in short supply,” he said.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
Whoz fault is it? Lazy chap. You ought to be fired!
Clueless Muppets! Seems you have forgotten how your Ukwa used to idle at filling shouting unpalatables at mmd. Grow up Yaluma or whatever your name is? You are the gov’t you Muppets and the buck stops at your door. Grow a pair!
He said it is unfortunate that some political leaders are attempting to gain mileage out of the fuel shortage.
…But, Sir that is EXACTLY what PF would have done if it were still in opposition! And as I recall, it was a political move by your government to give our fuel away to Malawi. So please… now that you have your cake, don’t try and eat it too!
Accept responsibility please, if government can’t take responsibiliyt, who will? Nevers? HH? Chipimo?
Chimbwi No Plan
And you are called Mines, Energy and Water Development Minister who cant accept responsibility as government?? Who’s fault is it then?? If you cant accept responsibility then you are not fit to be in those offices.. You guys decided to donate fuel to malawi
Oh please! from cold weather to pipelines? Inept chatacters please give people a break
Yaluma tell us the cost to Zambian taxpayers and the Zambian economy of your foolish 5m litres petrol donation to Malawi.
what of the fuel you donated to Malawi? That would have alleviated the situation.
There are no two ways about it the minister should step down since he does not want to take the blame.
We are sure that it is not PF Govt’s fault that you donate the fuel to Malawi which could have covered this period but Sata in his individual capacity since he just wake up and donated without cabinet’s approval or concent. What a govt full of lying at every point. Just admit it, you are not competent enough for what you are doing.
idiocity i this Pathetic Fools government….why are you running away from it…sha…everyday kutantamina fuel..what a government
The why are u apologizing if its not yo fault, u’r contracting yoself… Ok kanshi its my fault…. u feel better now?? Bwana minister?? U are just dull sir
We dont use inches in Zambia Bwana Minister. Ask your PS to convert that pipe size for you into Metric units or atleast use your mobile phone if you have one.
Blame game as usual! You are the govt mudala. Is it the burst pipeline or there is more/hidden details to this?
Iwe Yaluma and just whose fault do you think it is. Its GRZ’s incompetence and lack of focus. Silly chaps indeed.
The more you explain Bwana Minister, the more you are exposing your failure to govern and manage your ministry. If you have nothing to say…just shut up!!
It is true that it is not the govt’s fault. It is the people’s fault for having cars and having to use petrol. If people only walked or used horses or ox carts then this problem would not be arising.
Irresponsible comments from this Yaluma erodes further confidence in PF govt by Zambians. The minister needs to be prompted that they are in government and take full responsibility for any disruption to the normacy of life in the country. To continue to act like in opposition and blame other parties for incompetency and failure to provide services to the general public is clear testimony as others have said like ‘Chimbwi no plan’ approach to governancy in the nation.
Dont insult our intelligence iwe Yasuma.Didnt you earlier say the fans going to watch the match between zambia and ghana finished the fuel?If you dont want to accept responsibility, you might aswell resign-chimbwi no plan.
Sorry pipo,it is my fault,next time i will buy adequate fuel to last us a whole year!!
my rih colleagues bought the little remaining fuel as they drove to ndola for the game.i warned them to leave some for you ordinary folks but they said they didn’t want to be affected by poor planning by govt!!
Mr Yaluma said it is not government’s fault that the country is experiencing a fuel shortage because the bursting of the oil pipeline was ***anticipated***and could not be rectified in the past – shocking and quite frightening. So if that scenario was anticipated, you fools should have been working around the clock to ensure contingency plans for fuel reserves were available in case that happened. But noooo, you waited for it to burst and like *****s donated our fuel! C’mon think man >>>
“He said it is unfortunate that some political leaders are attempting to gain mileage out of the fuel shortage” – Did Sata not do the same. Fools, childish and pathetic comment. Why do we have childish politicians in Zambia. Terribly frustrating and annoying! We have kids as politicians. Makes me sick and bloody fedup. Get to work Mr Yaluma and deliver…. 2014 is around the corner and then before you know it – 2016!!!!!!!!! New Government!!!! As you will be out!!!! So stop making excuses!! Blaming the cold weather is preposterous. Ati the cold weather. You got up until 2014. Useless!!
Mr Yaluma you’re fired!
Based on your excuses and failing to put in place contingency plans to ensure the country does not run out of fuel you are fired. You are also fired on grounds for lack of common sense when you anticipated the pipeline to burst. Total negligence! So pack your bags as you fired!!!! Goodbye. Job vacancy available please kindly send in your applications.
Ok! Let me get this staight! So it isn’t the governments fault that they anticipated the fuel line to leak? It’s also not their fault that they are now using the 12 inch pipe (which, according to what the faultless honourable minister seems to bring in less fuel than the 8 inch pipe?????).
And you defincant blame the government for all those silly, thoughtless people who want to drive to Ndola to watch their National Team wallop big teams like Ghana! They are the ones to blame, busy driving across the country like we have no buses in Zambia! Selfish lot! And this wynter has definitely got something to do with the opposition! How else can you explain all the power cuts? It’s clearly a conspiracy!! It’s NOT the governments fault!
You are a failure Yaluma.Its your duty to ensure those supplying fuel are not failures like you.explain the black outs we are having in some parts of the country……
Mr Yaluma said it is not government’s fault that the country is experiencing a fuel shortage because the bursting of the oil pipeline was anticipated and could not be rectified in the past – shocking and quite frightening. So if that scenario was anticipated you should have been working around the clock to ensure contingency plans for fuel reserves were available in case that happened. But no you waited for it to burst and donated our fuel! C’mon think man. You fired!
Oh I get your point bwana minister, It is the zambians fault for putting you failure goons in government.
Bad weather,zambia-ghana game,pipe bursting awe mwandi ni no plan.
Chimbwi no brains and plan….
When i said these guys were baboons i was insulted…
You complaining of being insulted? You kidding me!!
In fact you deserved to be killed for insulting the President and the people that elected him.
Sata took advantage of such things. Sometimes I feel RB was wrongly maligned and heaped with crazily big accusatins when he committed small time cases. PF sort this thing. Ukwas used to take political mileage out of this. PF should NOT think they are beyond being questioned. why is RSA and Botswana not facing this fuel shortages.
Interesting times indeed. Who knew we would have the likes of this one as leaders?
Earlier Soccer fans were blamed for th shortage. Comedy!!!!! So did this Govt., want soccer fans to walk from Livingstone to Ndola? PF come up with genuine excuses.when u say Govt., not to blame, who should be blamed since Govt., imports the commodity???? Govt., made simple being run by simple minds who do not seem to know how to plan effectively.
At 26 Engineer, what wrong have we baboons done to you? Are we the ones who voted for this inept and visionless party that subsequently formed GRZ. This insult and blame on us is uncalled for. We are a peaceful and close knit family without fuel or food problems. We do not insult humans but you humans (our closest relatives) are always insulting us and accusing us of being part of your PF and government. We have forgiven you but do not make it a habit to insult us since you have already done it before. We quote ‘When I said these guys were baboons I was insulted’ end of quote. God be with you the humans of Zambia as you deal with your PF Government
# 4 & 6
I agree with you.. Govt is responsible for ensuring that fuel is readily available and distributed throughout the country.
Much as they want to take credit when things go well, they must take the punch as well when they falter and if the minister can’t take responsibility when there is a shortage, then he is not fit for the job.
The President must fire him.
IT IS YOUR FAULT. 7 MONTHS DOWN THE LINE. YOU SHOULD HAVE STARTED BUILDING THE FUEL RESERVES TO COVER AT LEAT 6 MONTHS OR 3 MINIMUM. YOU SHOULD BLAME YOURSELVES AND NOT ANYONE…… ELECTRICITY IT THE SAME. BUILD MORE POWER STNS TRIPPLE THE CURRENT CAPACITY………….
STOP WASTING MONEY IN THE MAIZE. BUY STRATEGIC RESERVES ONLY 600000MT IS OK. LET THE PRIVATE SECTOR BUY THE REST AND EXPORT TO BRING FOREX WHICH IS IN SHORT SUPPLY………..WE HAVE ENOUGH PLAYERS TO SWALLO ALL THE CROP. USE THE MONEY TO DEVELOP INRASTRUCTURE LIKE THE STORAGE TANKS, ELECTRICITY AND THE PF ROADS( WE HAVE NOT SEEN ANY PF ROAD IN OUR COMMUNITIES. ALL NEW ROADS ARE FOR RB. WE CALL THEM RB ROADS)
#31 Nshi sunda sunda, these days you are really impressive, have you just obtained a degree in political analysis? As for Yaluma, you say he is not fit for the job and must be fired. Okay agreed, but when that is done the President’s employers must also fire him for failing to appoint competent ministers.
Hon Yaluma just fell short of blaming MMD for not anticipating the pipe burst, but probably remembered what someone told him yesterday that PF has been in power 9 months now. That is enough time to correct mistakes of previous MMD government since PF are so intelligent that they promised to fix ALL problems within 90 days. Bottom line is that due to passage of time (and PF capacity to fix problems in 90 days) MMD is no longer a factor to be blamed. Grow up, you are now on your own!!
# 26…You complaining of being insulted? You kidding me!!
In fact you deserved to be killed for insulting the President and the people who elected him.
Nine chale, Floyd chilufya or chitalu and ugly face Maxwell, why have you gone into hiding? Yaluma needs your support. He can do with a bit of support! This is a remainder to Ukwanites that it is a sitting gov’t that gets to be judged on performance!
When HH tells you that “Chimbwi No Plan” govt is in charge you complain! My minister has just explained to you, its NOT govt fault. YOU are the people the voted-in the Chimbwis’
Hon Yaluma is correct its not governments fault. Its my fault. I allow mediocre leadership to have a place in our nation.
Even Grade 7 pupils would laugh Christopher Yaluma out of their class for making utterly ludicrous statements like that…Levy Mwanawasa (MHRIP) wasn’t being unreasonable when he introduced that Fuel Levy, I’m told those funds where going towards beefing up our reserves which have now been used up. The gov’t abolished the levy to appease Taxi drivers without even finding alternatives. This is likened to selling all your maize reserves after a bumper harvest just to reduce the price of a bag of maize only to be hit by a major drought the next season.
Sata will soon have to do the humble gesture of swallowing his words and reintroduce that levy, find other logical methods to cut costs in the procurement, supply, refining and distribution of crude.
Seriously, do we need an oil refinery in Zambia? One wonders how it adds value since Zambia is not an oil producing country. Does it not just inflate our costs? If you think of southern africa, Zambia has the highest fuel costs, which could be attributted to ideni, otherwise just what is the reason for this?
This Yaluma man should be fired! Which past are you talking about? What a government that can not take responsibility ! Then whose fault iwe chimuntu cabula amano? We are in maningi Fisi’s shit!
Yes Sir, we have already been told. It is not the government’s fault. It is the fault of all those people who drove to Ndola to watch the Zambia Ghana game. One wonders what will happen when Zambia has to host major tournaments like the AFCON. The particpating nations will all be blamed for finishing the fuel!
Yaba, I cannot Believe that a president who is called man of action can have such a guy as minister. LPM introduced K400 for reserve fuels, PF removed the amount to please voters. CHIMBWI NO PLAN ZOONA
Yalikosa ukuba opposition chwe chwe chwe..up end..chibaba