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The fuel shortage that has plagued the capital for months has worsened in recent days. Not having enough substances, gas stations operate as they can.

This slows down the activity of certain actors in society, in particular, drivers of taxis, buses, motorcycle taxis and merchants. While they deplore the exorbitant prices of the black market, the resellers defend themselves. Since the start of this crisis, almost all the service stations in the area have limited their distributions. Some work for 2 to 3 hours a day maximum. This penalizes those who rely on this commodity to be able to carry out their activities. For example, at the Tradex service station, opposite the cathedral, taxis, cars, trucks, motorcycles and cans languish impatiently in a long queue. For those who have lost hours in this spiral, a whole day flies by. “I would have already lost the day” “This situation hits on all fronts. If you don’t have fuel, how are you going to work? And the family at home? For example, I’ve been here since 5 a.m. And, we’ve just left ‘to inform that they will open at 1:00 p.m. I would have already lost the day” laments Enock, a taxi driver. This situation has an impact on public transport. Many civil servants, pupils and students arrive late for work or even for school. If it is difficult to stock up on fuel at service stations, some have chosen to turn to the black market, where prices have fluctuated in recent days. Except that here too, it is difficult to get out of it with a profit. “We have to deal with it” “Previously, we bought a liter of gasoline for 865 francs at the pump. Since it is difficult to get it now, we are forced to buy on the black market for 1,500 francs. Given the price and the fact that we we earn less, we offered customers to pay 1,500 instead of 1,000 francs per hairstyle. But they refuse. As a result, we have to deal with it.” regret a hairdresser. Even if the price has not changed at the pump, over the past three days, a liter of gasoline has reached 2,000 CFA francs on the black market. The resellers, themselves, justify themselves. “They ask us for more than what we gave them” “Today to get petrol, you have to negotiate with the gas station attendants by slipping them a 2,000 franc note. We, at our level, are forced to increase the price of a liter to 1,500 francs in order to be able to earn something. If in recent days the price of a liter has soared once more, it is because the shortage has worsened and the gas station attendants are asking us for more than what we were giving them” says a fuel retailer. Back from a mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad and Cameroon, the Minister of Energy and Hydraulics promises to react later on this situation. Source: Radio Ndeke Luka

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