Fuel price hike sparks anger

Zimbabwe’s announcement of a fuel price increase by up to 32 percent has been met with expressions of frustration and anger. Elizabeth Nerwande, the executive director of Zimbabwe’s Consumer Council, told IRIN on Thursday that this latest hike would trigger further increases in the prices of basic commodities. “Transport costs are bound to increase, which will put more pressure on the already poor majority of the country,” Nerwande said. She added that since the beginning of this year, basic commodities have gone up by more than 300 percent. Zimbabwe’s transport minister announced on state television on Wednesday that petrol would increase by 27 percent a litre while diesel would go up by 32 percent a litre. Nerwande said the situation in the country was tense following the announcement, but “it is difficult to predict what the people’s reaction will be.” She added that her council preferred a round table conference where all affected parties could discuss an appropriate response to the increases as opposed to street protests. According to economists, the latest fuel increase, the second since last November, would cause an immediate surge in inflation which currently stands at over 50 percent. The November petrol increase of 65 percent forced a doubling of urban transport fares. At the beginning of this year, the price of diesel went up by 24 percent while the price of oil increased by 30 percent. These increases, which led to a hike in food prices, provoked three days of violent rioting in urban areas all over the country, leaving at least three people dead. These latest fuel increases are the government’s response to the crisis faced by the country’s sole fuel importer, the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (NOCZIM), which said it was failing to provide adequate fuel to distributors because of severe financial problems. NOCZIM urged the government to either introduce fuel rationing or increase the retail price.