By BARNABAS ZULU
MILES Sampa was yesterday forced to withdraw his statement in Parliament in which he claimed that President Hakainde Hichilema is under State capture of Shashikant Patel, the owner of Agro Fuel who has accused of sabotaging Zambia’s economy by charging double the cost for the supply and delivery of petroleum products to the Zambian government.
In a heated debate after Mokozo Chikote, the Energy Minister delivered his ministerial statement on the relationship between Agro Fuel and the UPND government, Mr Sampa, the Matero Patriotic Front (PF) Member of Parliament claimed President Hichilema had been captured by Agro Fuel and that was why the company had been allowed to monopolise the use of TAZAMA Pipeline.
According to Mr Sampa, Agro Fuel had been allowed to monopolise TAZAMA Pipeline and that the company was making a whopping US$99 million per annum in profits at the expense of Zambians who had the burden of exponentially expensive fuel.
“Madam Speaker, the Minister stated that since they took over government in 2021, they found the fuel debt at US$400 million. Five years have passed, and the debt has doubled to US$800 million, a 100% increase. When they came into power, the fuel price was K13 per litre, now it is K35 per litre, a 100% increase. Agro Fuel, which has the monopoly and makes US$99 million per year. The question is: hardworking Minister of Energy, can you confirm that the owner of Agro Fuel, Sashi Patel (Shashikant), has captured you, has captured the president, and has captured this government?” Sampa asked.
However, Speaker of the National Assembly Nellie Mutti curtailed Mr. Sampa’s debate and questions, forcing him to withdraw his statement, arguing that it was not based on facts.
Christopher Kang’ombe, the Kanfinsa law maker accused Agro Fuel of sabotaging the country’s economy by overcharging by more than double the cost to supply and deliver petroleum products to government.
Mr Kang’ombe said Agro Fuel had been allowed to monopolise the use of TAZAMA Pipeline and that for the last three years, the company had been supplying fuel through its expensive bids thereby making the commodity more expensive to Zambians.
And Stephen Kampyongo, the Shiwang’andu Member of Parliament questioned Mr Chikote how it was that Agro Fuel had in the last three years been supplying fuel at US$115 million and accepted a at half the bid price.
Mr Kampyongo wondered who was signing Agro Fuel contracts, asking whether it was the Ministry of Energy, the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) or indeed the company supplying fuel itself.
Meanwhile, Energy Minister Mr. Makozo Chikote failed to explain why Agro Fuel has monopolized the TAZAMA pipeline, as reported in the media.
In his Ministerial statement, Chikote failed to address the issue directly but chose to blame the past Patriotic Front regime for the rise in fuel prices, claiming they left behind a debt of UA$400 million.
“The debt left behind was US$477 million, and the debt has accrued to US$877 million because of the penalties and the way they drafted the contracts,” Mr Chikote said. He also stressed that the state was not under any form of capture by the owners of Agro Fuel, asserting that the supplier had also dealt with previous governments.
Mr Chikote also mentioned that fuel prices are expected to drop due to the open access policy the government has implemented.
