By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
Amidst the queues at fuel stations over the past couple of days in Freetown and other parts of the country, an official at Petroleum Regulatory Agency (PRA) has allayed the fears of customers and the public over worrisome development especially over the weekend..
The Communications Officer of PRA, Mohamed Macarthy explained to Politico that there is no shortage of fuel in the country nor is there any intention by the agency to increase prices of the commodity. He explained that the long queues in fuel stations are as a result of shortage in supply, due to late arrival of vessels. He confirmed that a vessel has anchored and the tanks have started distributing fuel to the provinces, saying by mid-week, the long queues would vanish if all goes well with distribution.
Politico also contacted the Communications Officer of NP, Edwin Peacock who confirmed that they have enough fuel in the facilities that will serve for months. He corroborated the PRA's statement that the long queues are due to the late arrival of fuel. He added that CONEX Company was expecting vessels in the subsequent days to ease the long queues in stations.
Ibrahim Tarawally, a rickshaw (kehkeh) rider, told Politico that they have been experiencing the shortage since May 1st. He said they are afraid of a potential hike in price because that has been the strategy used whenever the prices of petroleum products are about to increase in the country. He appealed to authorities concerned to try and solve the problem so that they can return to their normal activities.
Momodu Jalloh, a bike rider, also expressed fears of a potential scarcity and the speed needed to swiftly address the problem saying the scarcity has caused suffering as they cannot ride without fuel. He urged the importers of fuel to always have enough reserve to avoid such occurrences. The seeming scarcity came amidst an electricity crisis in the country, though the latter is improving gradually.
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