Faith Nyasuguta
Currently, Uganda is experiencing a fuel crisis following a build-up of fuel transporters at the major border points of Malaba and Busia in the east of the nation.
Witnesses indicate that queues of waiting trucks, as long as 70km (43 miles) can still be seen.
For days, truck drivers in East Africa have been protesting against a requisite by the Ugandan government that they test for Covid-19 at the border points, whether they have presented a negative PCR test or not.
The order to test at the border was given at the start of January. Uganda later suspended it but already, there was a build-up of trucks at the border points.
In the nation that imports all its fuel and other petroleum products, the total fuel consumed in a day is about 6.5m litres (1.7m gallons).
Since 2021, fuel prices have been steadily rising, but a major spike has been seen in the past week.
In Kampala, the capital, some filling stations have been selling only the premium petrol which costs $1.5 per litre in some outlets.
This comes amid a ministry of energy’s directive to retailers over the weekend, stating that prices should not exceed 5,000 Uganda shillings ($1.4)
As last week was coming to an end, fuel prices had already hit 10,000 Uganda shillings ($2.83) dollars in some other countryside towns.
At the moment, many outlets have already completely run out of all fuel products.
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