Fuel shortage spreads as towns countrywide run dry

Zimbabwe's fuel supply situation worsened on Thursday as more filling stations in major towns had run dry by mid-morning, the state-run 'Herald' reported. Besides Harare, Bulawayo, Masvingo and their surrounding areas, other towns along the highways to Zimbabwe's borders, including Chinhoyi, Karoi and Mutoko, did not have enough fuel stocks as well. It is feared that the worsening fuel crisis was going to cripple the country's tourism industry and other sectors of the economy. With the looming maize shortage in the country, the fuel shortage was likely to continue, as the available foreign currency would be used to buy maize stocks to avert a food crisis, oil industry sources said on Wednesday. It could not be ascertained when the supplies would improve as there were no indications of supplies coming in either through the pipeline or overland. A survey by the 'Herald' in Harare showed that no filling station was sure when more supplies would arrive. Long queues were evident at the few service stations that had fuel, while a number of other filling stations were completely deserted as they had no fuel.