Fuel Adulteration Comes Down

The Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) has managed to curb the adulteration of fuel from around 75 per cent to 5 per cent today as it cautions dealers to stay away from importation of counterfeit petroleum products.

EWURA Director for Petroleum Mr Godwin Samwel told reporters here yesterday that the sector has witnessed massive improvements in recent years that made it possible to do away with malpractices as attempted by dishonest dealers.

He was speaking shortly after opening a workshop attended by petroleum dealers who were informed on a number of transformations ahead including the introduction of the new regulations on lubricants and liquefied petroleum gas.

"We have called the petroleum dealers with the aim of informing them some current developments in the sector and the coming regulations on lubricants and liquefied gas since these must be well understood by stakeholders before coming into force," he said.

Mr Godwin said the Authority also plans to call a stakeholders meeting soon in Dar es Salaam where among others the new arrangement on Oil Bulk Procurement will be discussed.

According to him, it is being proposed for the current mode of oil procurement to be revisited in order to give room for more players to import the products unlike the present practice.

Under the current practice, Mr Samwel said, one company is being awarded a tender to import the consignment in bulk but the proposed arrangement will allow more dealers to be awarded tenders for the deal hence increase the competition and ultimately reduce the price.

Other factors to be considered in the new arrangement will be the amount of capital a company will be supposed to have before it was considered fit for bulk procurement so allowing many importers would reduce that burden. He expressed concern on some of the dealers being engaged in illegal smuggling of petroleum products from neighbouring countries through Lake Victoria asking them to stop it before it was too late.

"For a number of years we are receiving information on dishonest dealers importing petroleum products through unofficial routes -- many using Lake Victoria. We call for cooperation from stakeholders to end this unethical trend," he said.

Mr Samwel said with the availability of gas as an alternative source of energy in the country, EWURA has already launched a campaign for many Tanzanians to use it as part of the environmental conservation measures.

One of the dealers, Mr Ahmad Misanga, thanked EWURA for providing education on the changes taking place in the energy sector and welcomed the new regulations on lubricants and liquefied petroleum gas.

He said the petroleum dealers association was strongly against defaulters of the government directives and regulations and urged all the members to comply with them for sustainable operations.

However, he said the government should consider giving them more time to fix new Electronic Fiscal Devices (EFDs) machines especially those supposed to be fixed directly on the pumping machines.

"We promise to comply with the directive of fixing these machines but we have come to realize that they are too expensive for all of us to afford as each machine is sold at 4 million/-," he said.

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