By NOEL IYOMBWA
TRANSPORTING finished products using the TAZAMA pipe line will lead to vandalism of the pipe, energy expert Mutekelo Lubita has said.
Speaking on ZNBC Kwacha morning program,Mr Lubita said that once fuel is transported as a finished product, the pipe line will not be left untouched.
He said that even in the 1970s when the pipe line was operational, it was prone to vandalism adding that it will be more worse as crime has become advanced.
Mr Lubita observed that even if drones will be installed it will not make any difference because they will only be monitoring activities not arresting vandals.
He advised government to pull out of the process and leave it to private players.
“The fact that government will handle money to buy crude when it has other competing needs can end up messing up the procurement process because the major problem in the sector is the procurement process.
“ It gets erratic with time it may do well for some but when there other pressures government fails to buy and that becomes a problem because it is expensive to maintain a plant that is not operational,”
He said pricing of fuel has also been a problem for a long time.
Mr Lubita explained that when government buy and bring crude into the country through Energy Regulation Board, it has to price it correctly to retain the money which he said has been a problem for a long time.
He observed that private public partnership will be a good solution because if Indeni was allowed to find partners ,they would come with money to buy the crude oil while Indeni will process and at the end Indeni and partners will get proceeds.
Mr Lubita said that the pricing of fuel in the country is crude as it does not reflect the cost.
The Minister of Energy Peter Kapala announced that government has placed Indeni Petroleum refinery, in Ndola on care and maintenance as part of reforms aimed at promoting efficiency and stability in the petroleum subsector.
Mr. Kapata said that the move will result in having fewer employees at Indeni with the option of re-deployment of staff and voluntary separation for those who may wish to leave the company.
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