© AFP
A service station in Kinshasa (archives).
In the huge Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), users have been having difficulty refueling in certain provinces in the east of the country for several weeks. The government has dispatched its teams to the provinces.
With our correspondent in Kinshasa, Pascal Mulegwa
For the past two weeks, queues have been almost permanent in front of service stations in Lubumbashi, in the province of Haut-Katanga. Same observation in Lualaba, two provinces rich in minerals.
A liter of gasoline has gone from 1 to 2 dollars… or even more. Motorists note the scarcity of fuel. According to a press release from the Ministry of Hydrocarbons, the shortage observed is explained by the fact that local marketers are resorting to a kind of rationing, that is to say a drop-by-drop sale.
Some oil operators are experiencing cash flow difficulties and have difficulty honoring their commitments to the State. The ministry adds: Today there is a kind of blackmail once morest the government from which they demand payment of the loss of earnings as well as the revision of the prices at the pump following the rise in the barrel. »
In the province of Maniema, the delegation dispatched by the government says it has noted an even more dizzying increase in the price at the pump.
According to the local press in this landlocked province, a liter of gasoline has gone from 2 dollars to more than 6 dollars.
According to the press release from the ministry, a liter of gasoline normally sold for around 2 dollars in the territory, but following this shortage, it went from simple to double, trading up to 3.5 dollars. The government team is pleased to have succeeded in lowering this price to 2.5 dollars.
