By KETRA KALUNGA
GOVERNMENT should fine unlicensed fuel traders to avoid overcrowding of inexperienced individuals in the sector, the Oil Marketing Companies Association of Zambia (OMCAZ) has urged.
OMCAZ President, Kafula Mubanga said the government should come up with punitive measures to curb the illegal trade of petroleum products.
Dr. Mubanga said in an interview that anybody trading in fuel must have a license failure to which they should be fined so that sanity is brought on the market.
He said there is a need for the government to move in and put a law that protects the sale of fuel via licensed OMCs to avoid the leakages in the subsector.
“These unlicensed fuel traders buy off most of the product and stock them and wait for a time when there is a bit of shortage then they hit the market with a high price to the OMCs and that makes OMCs lose business.
“These are outages that the government needs to work on, anybody trading in fuel must be licensed, if not must be fined and that way you will see that there is sanity on the market,” he said.
Dr. Mubanga appealed to the government to ensure that tenders are floated to licensed OMCs only and not unlicenced ones through permits despite having the money to tender for fuel importation because such ones lack the experience to handle fuel which is a hazardous product.
He said the government should ensure that only those with valid licenses and experience are allowed to trade in petroleum products to avoid crowding the sector with inexperienced traders.
“Ensure that those OMCs available and able to perform are given chance to operate to protect the market as opposed to working with commodity suppliers who are given weavers to bring the product because they have got the muscle,” he said.
Unlicensed Fuel Dealers Crowding The Sector
