Scores of Tanzanian motorists are crossing into Zambia daily to buy fuel because the commodity is cheap in Zambia than in that country. The demand for fuel at Nakonde by Tanzanian motorists is putting pressure on the three available filling stations in the border town.
The latest fuel adjustments in Tanzania effected on July 1, 2021 have further left Tanzanian motorists with no option but to seek for cheaper fuel in Zambia.
Speaking to the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS ) in Nakonde today, Muchinga Province Permanent Secretary, Davison Mulenga said the continued demand for fuel by motorists from the neighboring Tanzania is putting more pressure on the local dealers of fuel.
Captain Mulenga says Zambia has the cheapest fuel in the region and this why motorists from the neighboring countries are now flocking in to buy the commodity.
He says that people from Tanzania are the ones flooding filling stations to buy fuel saying the scenario is the same in Isoka and Chinsali.
“Fuel here in Zambia is now cheap and because of this, we have recorded increase in demand for the commodity from people coming from across the border in Tanzania.
And Nakonde District Commissioner, Field Simwinga says it is for the first time in over 10 years that Tanzanian motorists are crossing into Zambia to buy fuel.
Mr Simwinga says the demand for fuel is very high at Nakonde because of the huge demand from the neighboring countries where fuel is now expensive.
And Provincial Coordinator for Zambia Micro and Small Graders Foundation Cooperative, Josephat Chitimbwa, says the demand for fuel from motorists from Tanzania is good for the people of Zambia especially those at Nakonde.
Mr Chitimbwa told ZANIS in an interview that the change in the scenario where Tanzanian motorists are flocking into Zambia to buy fuel using the Zambian Kwacha means more money in circulation.
Mr Chitimbwa says even Malawian nationals are flocking into Zambia to buy cheap fuel.
One of the Tanzanian mini bus driver, Masud Shupa found buying at a local filling station in Nakonde said they are crossing into Zambia daily to buy fuel because the commodity is cheap in Zambia than in their country.
Shupa said as people in business, they are not making profit if they buy fuel in their country, Tanzania.
“We are crossing into Zambia daily to buy fuel because the commodity is cheap here. We are in business and for us to make a profit, we need to buy cheap fuel and we can only access cheap fuel here in Zambia, ” said Shupa.
Tanzania has seen an increase in fuel costs in the past 12 months due to a rise in global demand and increasing local taxes and levies.
Dar es Salaam motorists are currently paying Sh 2,405 per litre of petrol, equivalent to K 25.25 Zambian Kwacha.
The latest adjustments in fuel in Tanzania were effected on July 1, 2021 as the government seeks to collect Sh100 as fuel levy in line with the Sh36.68 trillion-budget for the financial year 2021/22.
Rejoice in these Low fuel prices till August the 12th. In fact, a lot of prices of commodities are being kept artificially low due to elections.
If you think economy is bad right now, you have another thing coming next month….that is if you decide to keep the rotten thieves in office.
Vote wisely.
Mugufuli is gone now this puppet woman President for the big banks will sign off everything
Meanwhile hh is feeding his tribal supporters lies that things are expensive in Zambia. Fuseke kolwe imwe!!!
Don’t let PF leaders mislead people on this piece of news by stating, hence, that Zambia is ‘better than Tanzania’. The average wage in Tanzania is 543 dollars a month. In Zambia it’s 269 dollars. The difference in the fuel price is around 8 kwacha (0.36 of a dollar) The fuel in Zambia, then, remains expensive for the ordinary person in relation to earnings. The Tanzanians, who earn double Zambia’s wage on average, are merely taking advantage of saving 8 kwacha equivalent per litre. In relation to their average wage, their fuel is still more affordable than Zambia’s.
Here we are again, with the dunderhead troll, just like his masters the loud mouths of the likes of GBM and CK, showing ignorance and a lack of analysis. In the UK, fuel is around £1.30, equivalent to K39 per litre. PF ‘thinkers’ will excitedly state that Zambia’s fuel is hence cheaper as it is about half the UK price. Of course a UK resident earning the minimum wage of 1,400 pounds per month will find the Zambian fuel cheaper! But what about the Zambian earning the average wage which is £200 per month? Seven times less. Is it cheap for them? It’s the same with Tanzania whose average wage is twice that of Zambia. They are happy with Zambia’a cheaper fuel but does that mean Zambian’s with a lower purchasing power find the fuel cheap? This is the preposterous election fraud message…
Thats expected in an economy that is undergoing transformation except that you can’t sell below cost for long so as a nation we have to take a bold step to migrate from crying about high prices of goods to encouraging investments that are viable and well paying because its not sustainable to subsidise costs especially on items that are consumption oriented. It’s for this reason that we applaud Govt for being bold on infrastructure development because no investor will put his money where they is no necessary infrastructure for quality investment that guarantees good salaries.
Another positive note is that the economy of Zambia is resilient enough to withstand this cost pressure for sometime now and it also means Zambia is well able to compete at the regional level economically so we’re not doing that badly . We just need to keep pushing , making adjustments were need be and keep expanding the economy. Development is a process sometimes we suffer setbacks, we get up and keep rolling.