Local oil price fluctuations to continue unabated-EWURA

THE National Energy and Water Utility Regulatory Authority (EWURA) has assured oil consumers in the country to continue receiving price fluctuations on oil petroleum products as the situation is determined by the change of prices at global market. In view of this, EWURA has reiterated its stance to continue issuing indicative prices in order to curb with any possible economic downfall which is likely to be caused by unscrupulous oil dealers in the country. According to the authority’s head of Communications and Public Relations Titus Kaguo, there is no way to avoid the recurrent oil price increase, and if left without control, unscrupulous traders might take the advantage of rising the prices according to their wish. EWURA is working hard to regulate petroleum products, and the firm has appealed to petroleum product consumers to ask for receipts from buyers in order to ensure that important details such as the name of the petrol station, the indicative price and date are endorsed. The control of oil price by EWURA will continue to be reviewed at fortnightly intervals as earlier announced due to the sudden increase in price at global market. This is in a bid to stabilize oil prices in the country an aspect that helps to curb with the emerging unscrupulous oil dealers in the local market.

Director General of Energy and Water Utility Regulatory Authority {EWURA} Mr. Haruna Masebu elaborating a point to journalists not in the picture in early this year when the authority increased power tariff to current levels.

EWURA which is a sole regulator of oil products in the country has of recent instituted indicative prices and the essence of doing this is after it had discovered that there was no fixed price for oil products which keeps on rising and falling according to the oil shortages. Apart from that, oil dealers had to make own prices that seemed to be extravagant higher than normal an aspect that caused public outcry. “The intervention by EWURA has helped to stabilize the price at local market” says Mary Sichalwe an economist based in Dar es Salaam According to her, oil is a driving engine of all economic resources of all sectors of the economy and if the government would let private stakeholders to control oil businesses in the country, they would arrange their own prices as they are after the profit and not the welfare of the citizens in the country. Before the introduction of indicative prices on oil products by EWURA, oil dealers took an advantage when shortages of this precious product occurred in August this year when scores of filling stations across the country refused to sell fuel for some days in protest over unrealistic reduction in prices instituted by EWURA. However, both EWURA and the Tanzania Oil Marketers Association (TAOMAC) confirmed that the periodic shortages are artificially created by some unscrupulous dealers who speculate on the movements of indicative prices. Two weeks ago, fuel shortages arose after EWURA had announced indicative prices which were lower forcing the TAOMAC to issue a statement condemning the malpractice. According to the statement, the association was disgusted after it claimed to have witnessed long queues and the rush to many filling stations in Dar es Salaam city following rumours that there were no fuel supplies something that EWURA dismissed as untrue statement. According to EWURA, the country has enough oil stock and that mere speculation intends to set a petroleum issue as a political agenda that the government would decide to increase the prices following the fall of a shilling against US dollar. In order to be on the safe side, EWURA introduced new indicative oil prices and issued a directive to various filling stations in the country to introduce fuel price caps indicating the maximum above which fuel must not be sold. Apparently, the price hikes this time round were attributed to the increase of oil prices at the world market. Other contributing factors usually include the relentlessly depreciating Tanzania shilling against US dollar which is traditionally taken as a standard in the world of commerce. It is steadily but surely becoming normal that the fortnightly price changes either way up or down come at a time when dealers still have considerable quantities of fuel in stock. The move is in a bid that oil dealers should not exceed the authority’s wholesale price caps and retailers should not overcharge the consumers.