Ugandan Fuel Importers Run To Tanzania Citing Kenyan Election Violence

Posted by: Kyeyune Andrew Jonathan in Uganda news August 10, 2022

More Ugandan fuel importers have embarked on using the Tanzanian route to avoid relying on the Kenyan route which might experience disruption due to the ongoing elections.

The preferred Tanzanian route is evidently longer which makes the transportation a bit more expensive. The government has also revealed that 20% of the importers are already using the route.

“Currently, 20 percent of all our petroleum products are transported through Tanzania. In case of an emergency, we will be able to increase the capacity on the Tanzania route,” Mr Solomon Muyita, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Energy, said in an interview on Tuesday, 09 August 2022.

The Tanzania government has agreed to reduce the road toll rates on trucks traveling to Uganda from $16 to $10.

Apparently, the fuel prices are already high enough in Uganda and this has given birth to fears that they might go even higher.

However, the fuel trucks moving through Kenya have not been interrupted yet after the Tuesday polls. The election has by day been largely peaceful.

Vote counting is still ongoing and the better part of the results will be announced later today.

According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos), Uganda’s daily fuel consumption stands at five million litres. The vast bulk of this fuel is hauled in using oil tankers that ply the northern corridor route.

The government has made moves to make improvements to its fuel reservoirs besides the central corridor. Muyita said private and public fuel storages are full with fuel that can cover for 10 days.

“We have 100 million litres of storage in the country. And there are many trucks that are on the way to Uganda,” he said.

Robinah Nabbanja, the Prime Minister and Leader of Government Business said the government has fuel reserves to run the country in case of a crisis.

She made the revelation replying to a matter of national importance raised by Hoima City Woman Member of Parliament, Hon. Asinansi Nyakato. This went down during the sitting of the House on 04 August 2022.

Uganda receives over 185 million litres of petroleum products per month, mostly channeled through Kenya.

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