The Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI) today convened an Energy Dialogue Forum for Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and various stakeholders aimed at identifying opportunities and challenges in the energy sector.
ZACCI Immediate Past President Geoffrey Sakulanda said the Energy dialogue forum also aims at achieving consensus on a fuel pricing model in Zambia.
ZANIS reports that Mr Sakulanda said the issue of the fuel pricing model has been going on for a long time adding that consumers, suppliers and government need to interrogate the problem and reach a consensus.
“Looking at December 2023, the daily consumption of Petrol was at 1.6 million litres and Diesel was at 3.6 million liters,” he added.
Mr Sakulanda outlined factors that go into determining the fuel price.
“The factors that go into pricing this commodity are the international price rate, exchange rate, and unfortunately, it has been unstable and issues of taxes, levies and fees. The sum total of these factors is what delivers what we know as the Pump price,” he said.
Mr Sakulanda pointed out that there is a need to have candid discussions around these matters and see whether there can be something to be done to help shape government policy around the matter.
Speaking at the same forum, PUMA Energy General Manager Patricio Chababo said one major move that the government was to step out from procuring and supplying fuels to OMCs.
“That was a very positive move. Since then, with the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) we have been looking into the right pricing mechanism and methodology that takes into account the various components of the price of fuel when imported into the country,” added Mr Chababo.
Mr Chababo however, said the problem lies in the monthly review of the fuel price.
“The problem lies in the monthly reviews of the ERB, there are disparities because there are components that are understated and this is what we have seen for the past one year and a half,” he said.
He also advised that the government might want to consider having more oil pipelines in the near future as this may contribute to economic security.
Meanwhile, present at the event was Indo Zambia Bank Senior Relationship Manager Oscar Ndalama who advised OMCs to interact with the bank, so as to find ways of how the bank can assist financially in securing fuel stocks.
“There has been limited interaction between OMCs and our bank. We advise that, going forward, we should interact, so that we can help financially in securing fuel stock,” said Mr Ndalama.
The discussion which was held in Lusaka, was themed: “Charting the Course: Enhancing Transparency and Stability in Zambia’s Petroleum Pricing Framework.”
