Fuel availability is uncertain in the economic capital. Sometimes it is the shortage of gasoline type fuel, sometimes that of diesel type. However, the number of new machines registered increases overnight. It stands at 8458 in the first half of the year 2022.
The current shortage concerns much more diesel-type fuel. Even if gasoline is only available intermittently.
The shortage of fuel is becoming more and more recurrent in the town hall of Bujumbura. The car drivers we met deplore that the availability of fuel is becoming increasingly uncertain. Sometimes there is no petrol type fuel, sometimes there is a shortage of diesel type fuel or quite simply a shortage of both at the same time. “Once the fuel is available, it is urgent to hurry to fill the tank of your car, because you are never sure of the next day”, laments a taxi driver.
The shortage of diesel, passengers pay a heavy price
We are in the morning of Thursday March 16, 2023. Of the few service stations that have diesel, among others the Mezzo service station in the Kanyosha area, the BUPP service station which are near the market commonly called chez Sion , etc., there are long queues of large machinery including dump trucks, transport coasters, etc. The current shortage concerns much more diesel-type fuel. Even if gasoline is only available intermittently.
This shortage of fuel, whether of the diesel type or that of the gasoline type, is not without harmful consequences on mobility in the town hall of Bujumbura. Since almost all transport buses are supplied with diesel. On the various car parks located around the former central market of Bujumbura, during rush hours, especially from 3 p.m., there are long queues of passengers waiting for the buses. And that for a few days. These, unfortunately, only arrive in dribs and drabs.
8458 vehicles registered in 2022.
According to OBR statistics, during the first half of the year 2022, petroleum products dominated imports with specific taxation at a rate of 71.2% during the first quarter and 72.5% during the second trimester. The total value of these products for the first half of the year 2022 amounts to FBu 218,406.9 million. It was 86,679.2 million FBu for the first quarter and rises to 131,727.7 million FBu during the second quarter of 2022. Despite these large quantities of imported petroleum products, an imbalance is noticeable between the quantities imported and the gear to serve.
The number of new machines registered continues to increase overnight. As can be read in the quarterly bulletin of the OBR, 8458 machines were registered during the year 2022. During the first quarter of this same year, they were at 4290. Motorcycles and cars were the no longer registered at the respective rates of 60.2% and 17.8%. During the second quarter of 2022, 4,168 machines were registered, with motorcycles and cars leading the way.
