Fuel crisis looms

Zambia is experiencing a critical fuel shortage that has forced the government to look to South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Iran for urgent supplies, according to a top government official in the Ministry of Energy and Water Development. "We are only remaining with a [few] days' supply of diesel and just about a month's supply of petrol, while kerosene supplies are expected to last 100 days," Austin Sichinga, permanent secretary in the ministry, told IRIN. The shortage has been attributed to President Levy Mwanawasa's decision to cancel a fuel supply contract with Trans Sahara Trading (TST), a subsidiary of the Canadian mining firm Diamondworks. Mwanawasa cited unnamed irregularities when he ended the deal with TST as the sole supplier of fuel to Zambia. Vice-President Enoch Kavindele awarded the supply contract to TST as of August last year, cutting out TotalFinaElf, the main company supplying crude in the region. Kavindele's son, Junior, has officially been linked to TST, but Kavindele has denied any personal connection to the firm. Mwanawasa said last month that government officials would no longer be able to use their positions for business gain, as part of an anti-corruption crusade. Zambia needs some 380,000 mt of fuel annually. "This [the importation] costs us about US $100 million every year. What we want to try and do is to deal directly with governments in the future," Sichinga said. He called on the public not to panic over the supply of fuel in the country.