Energy Minister, Jorum Gumbo says Sakunda boss, Kudakwashe Tagwireyi does not control the fuel industry. He told the Standard :”Unfor...
Energy Minister, Jorum Gumbo says Sakunda boss, Kudakwashe Tagwireyi does not
control the fuel industry.
He told the Standard :”Unfortunately, those allegations are
coming from people that are not privy to the background of the whole matter.
The pipeline from Beira to Feruka is a pipeline that is owned by the Zimbabwe
government and Mozambique through a company they have formed. It so happens
that Sakunda and Puma have shares in that company, National Oil Infrastructure
Company of Zimbabwe (Noic), and those allegations are not true because it is a
business enterprise with Companhia Do Pipeline Mozambique-Zimbabwe (CMMZ), a
Mozambican company. Sakunda and Puma — because of their joint operations — have
shares and it is not that they have advantages when oil comes into the country.
Fuel comes into the country under Noic and it is never
influenced by Sakunda or Puma. Noic is responsible for distribution of fuel.
However, I can now say that the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) have now
allowed Noic to pick fuel and transport it 24 hours up to January 2019.
He was asked about allegations by former Bulawayo South MP
Eddie Cross that the cartel has monopoly over the pipeline and that neighbouring countries have since stopped
using the facility because of the high tariffs.
He said “I have very high regard for Cross as he is a
knowledgeable person, but there is one thing I need to say. Cross is an
interested party in fuel as he wants to bring in fuel through a second
pipeline, and he has spoken to me about that issue. However, I must say that
from my discussions with Cross when we talked about a second pipeline as
minister responsible for energy, it was to ensure that fuel can be distributed
to Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi through the second
pipeline so that we make Zimbabwe a hub and that is why I said I wanted to see
big storage tanks in Bulawayo.
The ideas I have are to make Zimbabwe a distributor from
Bulawayo to other countries. So, Cross is talking of something he knows — and
of which I cannot argue about because I am not interested in small fights.
Those are issues you find in competitors, but I represent government.
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