Swazi Observer

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PARAFFIN SHORTAGE HITS THE COUNTRY

By Bahle Gama | 2020-01-28

Eswatini has been dealt a major blow as it is short of paraffin which has had negative repercussions to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and members of the public.

Paraffin is regarded as one of the essentials, particularly to low income earners and some factories and its uses vary from household to businesses.

Whilst doing rounds around filling stations in Mbabane, it was discovered that two of the main filling stations that sell fuel were said to be without the liquid and these are Puma and Engine Mbabane.

Other filling stations clarified that they did not sell paraffin at all and these included Galp at Eveni, Engen Woodlands and Sidwashini.

Puma garage at Checkers disclosed that they have been out of paraffin for over seven months.

Speaking during an interview, one of the attendants at the filling station said the unavailability of paraffin has led to them replacing it with diesel.

“Due to the inability to get paraffin from suppliers we ended up cleaning the tank and replacing it with diesel. We think the problem is with our suppliers because we import paraffin from South Africa,” he said.

revealed

He further revealed that they had turned back a number of people on different occasions who had come to purchase paraffin at the station.

“A lot of people from different parts of the country have been turned back numerous times due to the unavailability of paraffin,” he added.

Meanwhile, another attendant at Engen stated that paraffin had been unavailable, for over two weeks at the filling station. He said even when available it did not last for a week due to its high demand by customers.

“As soon as the tank is filled up, a week is enough for it to last, as customers flock in great numbers,” he said.

He also mentioned that in the whole of December last year into January, the garage had no paraffin.

Seen carrying a 20-litre container, a customer who had come to buy paraffin at the Engine garage was disappointed when he learnt that it was not available.

Speaking during an interview, the customer who asked not to be named expressed his disappointment towards the lack of paraffin.

He stated that he had travelled all the way from Hlane to get the liquid, as he failed to get it even in other parts of the country.

surprise

“I have travelled all the way from Hlane to get paraffin here at Mbabane and to my surprise there is none. I have checked different places and there’s no paraffin in the country. I am really disappointed because paraffin is part of my life.

“I live in the rural areas and use it to cook and for lighting because we have no electricity,” he said.

aware

When sought for comment, Communications Officer in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy Sikelela Khoza said the ministry was aware of the shortage and has engaged oil companies which have committed to work around the clock to ensure that the supply of paraffin was restored.

“Paraffin is no longer produced in the refineries located in our neighboring countries therefore it has to be imported from international markets. This creates long lead times, resulting in delays in transporting the product to Eswatini,” he said

He further revealed that Engen Eswatini had a supply of paraffin and customers can obtain it from them while other companies work on importing their stock.

“In light of this new market development, oil companies have assured government that they are working on strategies to ensure that supply interruptions are at best avoided or at least minimised going forward,” he added.

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