Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), Dr John Mangudya, yesterday said that the persistent fuel shortages were, in addition to the scarcity of foreign currency, sustained by some dealers’ lack of enough working capital.
Speaking at the Daily News Business Breakfast Forum in the Harare, Mangudya said:
We have also noticed that banks and individuals themselves do not have enough local dollars.
…So then people always ask why there are some queues of fuel within Zimbabwe. Some of them are caused by lack of working capital.
Fuel shortages in the country have manifested in meandering queues at service stations. Service stations have also been hiking prices of fuel prompting public transport operators to hike their fares as a way to recoup their money and time spent in queues.
The government reintroduced the heavily-subsidised Zimbabwe United Passenger Company buses to cushion members of the public. However, Zupco, fleet remain inadequate for the demand.
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