Beni, February 27, 2024 – Second day of strike this Tuesday, February 27, 2024, by importers of petroleum products in the town of Beni, in North Kivu.
The latter are protesting once morest the issuance, by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Beni High Court, of appearance warrants once morest some of them, accused of illegally fixing fuel prices.
The strike is already impacting several sectors of life in Beni
This strike, which aims to oppose the approach of the prosecutor, who wishes to see the price of a liter be set at 3,800 FC, once morest the interest of the population, is already causing harmful consequences on several sectors of life. .
In the transport sector for example, the liter of fuel which sold between 3000 and 3500 FC has gone between 4500 and 5000 FC. This increase is already having an impact on the price of transport. Some motorcycle taxi drivers regret that this increase in the price of transport does not make it easier for them to understand the price of the trip with customers.
“There is an increase in the price of fuel (…) From Matonge to Kilokwa, we taxed 1000 FC but when you offer the customer 1500 FC or 2000 FC, he does not accept. May the State help us. It’s really regrettable. The price of a liter was 3500 FC, but today it has risen to 4000 FC, 4500 or even 5000 FC. We learn that the oil tankers who are on strike we don’t know why,” declared some taxi drivers.
During his tour of the town of Beni, the Depeche.cd reporter also spoke with some customers as they descended on motorbikes to the Matonge district. The latter say they are already having difficulty paying for the fare.
“The price of transport has increased. We paid 1000 FC but today, we pay 1500 or even 2000 FC. We take the taxi to make it easier for us to get around and so that we won’t be late. I left Matonge to Kilokwa, the biker charged me 2000FC. May the government really help us. We, the customers, are suffering,” they indicated.
The trade is not left
In the city of Beni, it is not only the transport sector that is affected by this situation. The commerce sector is also affected by this increase in fuel prices. Kavira Kalite, a woman seller of tomatoes and onions at the Beni market, indicates that she is already having difficulty ensuring the transport of her goods.
“The price of fuel has increased. Transport is becoming more and more expensive. I no longer know how to move my goods. My tomatoes and onions arrive at their destination following a long time with all the risk of rotting,” she declared on the microphone of Dépêche.cd.
For the moment, the oil workers do not appear to be ready to call off their strike action in case the warrants issued once morest some of them have not been canceled. In a correspondence, the mayor of Beni, who wants to preserve “social peace in his entity” asked the prosecutor at the TGI of Beni, to first suspend his approach while awaiting a palliative solution. A request which obviously remains unanswered.
Roger KAKULIRAHI
2024-02-27 16:55:33
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