By Cathy Maulidi:
Vice President Michael Usi has directed Energy Minister Ibrahim Matola, National Oil Company of Malawi (Nocma) and Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) officials to “quickly” work on solutions to fuel supply problems.
He has further ordered the officials to present to him solutions identified by Thursday.
Usi gave the directive Tuesday when he met with the minister and officials from Nocma to understand why they were failing to bring into the country the government-to-government arrangement fuel that is currently at Tanga Port in Tanzania.
The meeting, which was organised by the Vice President, came following the problem of unending fuel scarcity in the country.
Speaking after the meeting, which was held in camera, Matola said they would comply with the directive.
“The Vice President, who is also the Minister of State and Public Service Delivery, is not happy with the way our technical teams are handling the issue of bringing fuel into the country.
“He has, therefore, directed the technical team comprising Mera, Nocma and my ministry to bring immediate solutions on how the remaining 31 million litres of fuel in Tanga can be brought into the country urgently. We have been told to bring a report on the roadmap on Thursday,” Matola said.
The Vice President also invited Mera Chief Executive Officer Henry Kachaje to the meeting but Kachaje was not in attendance.
Sources inside the meeting told us that Kachaje reported that he was on holiday and that he was out of the country.
The source further told us that Usi was not happy with the explanation given on why there are delays in bringing the fuel into the country.
“The Vice President was not happy and that’s why he demanded a detailed report of solutions by Thursday. He wondered why it has taken this long to bring fuel which is just in Tanzania,” said the source.
Usi did not grant journalists an interview saying: “I will talk to you on Thursday.”
Weeks ago, the technical team that is handling the issue of transportation of fuel from Tanga, Tanzania, to Malawi reported that they were facing challenges in transporting the fuel into Malawi as they are able to load only 17 trucks instead of 80 per day.
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