By OLIVER SAMBOKO
THE increase in fuel prices in the country is not governments wish but due to external factors which is as a result of external factors which the Zambian government should bear with the New dawn government, vice president Mutale Nalumango has said.
Ms Nalumango said Zambia was not the only country that had been affected by the increase in fuel prices which has been necessitated by the war in Ukraine.
Ms Nalumango when responding to a question from Kabwe Central MP Chrizoster Halwindi Phiri who wanted to know why government could not sign a bilateral agreement with Angola which was an oil producing country for Zambia to export cheap crude oil.
She said that the challenge was that Zambia did not have the plant that could process the oil from Angola and that it was for this reason that government was contemplating on constructing a plant that would process crude oil in the near future.
“It may not be a short term plan but definitely it will be considered in the long term to ensure that this issue is dealt with,” she said.
Ms Nalumango said the war had negative impact on the global fuel pricing in the country and that some countries like Nigeria which produced the commodity had very high fuel prices.
“If a country like Nigeria who produce fuel are now complaining how about Zambia which does not even produce the commodity to fare,” he said.
Ms Nalumango said that Zambia was not the only country hit as the prices were increasing world over because of the Russia crisis.
She said it was not the wish of the new dawn government because external factors were at play making it difficult for them to maintain the prices.
Ms Nalumango said the government was constantly monitoring the situation and that they would ensure that they cushioned the situation and that would not let any Zambian suffer.
And Ms Nalumango said that government would curtail the use of luxurious vehicles by heads of parastatals to ensure that they cut costs.
She said it was not right for a parastatal chief to drive an expensive vehicle when the president declined an opportunity to be driven in an expensive limousine.
