1st July 2020
Sello Motseta
It is becoming clear the estimated 68 Unitrans truck drivers with COVID-19 led to the seizure of about 102 Unitrans trucks and the fuel crises that enveloped Gaborone and surrounding areas starting Friday.
Unitrans which is the primary source of fuel for Engen and Shell filling stations ground Gaborone and surrounding areas ground to a sudden halt after a significant number of its drivers were found to have tested positive for corona virus leading to the spike in new local cases of corona virus.
Despite officials indicating they would be drawing from the fuel reserves to alleviate the current fuel shortage that was never likely to happen because the franchise owners have contractual obligations to suppliers from outside Botswana who would have been adversely affected by such a decision and were likely to sue the Botswana Government and the local fuel suppliers for breach of contract.
Unitrans truck drivers were stuck in quarantine and they supply Engen, Shell and Puma. The situation was further compounded by the fact that Shell and Engen do not have a depot facility in Gaborone and Unitrans was not interested in hiring temporary drivers to drop of fuel in their fully loaded trucks whilst their full time drivers were in quarantine because it would have affected their profit margins.
As a result a lot of ordinary Batswana were adversely affected by situation in a number of ways. There was also a lot of concern about the lack of clarity on what the real problems were because truck drivers are essential service workers and the fuel crises did not happen during lockdown period.
“We heard from someone when we were shopping at Pula Spar that there is petrol at Engen Western Bypass and we came here immediately. We do farming and our farms are in trouble. We pump water for our poultry with fuel,” said Ndinaye Chengeta, an entrepreneur with a farm in Molepolole.
He said, “Without water on our farm our livestock are dying. We have massive poultry units and they drink a lot of water so we need to pump water with fuel throughout. It is now becoming clear that we need to start using solar power to avoid situations like these.”
Petrol is now much cheaper than before and more accessible which has helped to bolster the demand of fuel in Botswana by making it affordable and ensuring that the sector dominated by Asian entrepreneurs who supported the current President’s presidential ambitions becomes even more profitable.
“Retailers place order for fuel through franchise owners. You cannot get product from anyone else,” said an industry insider who did not want to be quoted.
The price of diesel in Botswana is relatively affordable at P7.98 per liter. For comparison, the average price of diesel in the world for this period is P10.29. The price of octane-95 gasoline is P7.76 per liter. For comparison, the average price of gasoline in the world for this period is P11.17.
A comparative analysis of global trends shows that the fuel price for Fuel (Per Litre) in Botswana is 68.08 % lower than the same Fuel price in Uruguay.
“We have had no petrol for three days and it takes hours to fill tanks for distribution to clients,” said Tebogo Moabamkwe, Engen Western By Pass. He said, “A lot of drivers are spending a lot of time in quarantine and we therefore experienced a shortage of drivers to transport fuel.”
A single Unitrans trucks typically carries 41,000 litters of petrol.
