Kabwe District Commissioner Lennox Shimwambwa says the government has instituted reforms and policy shifts in the energy sector which resulted in the involvement of the private sector in the petroleum supply value chain.
Mr Shimwambwa has observed that under the reforms the pricing cycle was reduced from 60 days to 30 days in order to have prices that are responsive to the basic pricing factors that include international oil prices, and the exchange rate between the United States (US) Dollar and the Zambian Kwacha respectively.
Mr Shimwambwa said this in a speech read for him by District Administrative Officer Handsome Mungalu during the opening of the Town Hall Meeting for stakeholders organized by the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) at the Zambezi Source Lodge in Kabwe today.
He said the petroleum sub-sector in the district and the country at large has experienced some challenges where the public is buying petroleum products from the illegal fuel vendors.
“We expect that the ERB shall share with this meeting the benefits of such policy changes in relation to the pricing and security of supply of petroleum products in Zambia,” Mr Shimwambwa said.
Mr Shimwambwa noted that trade in adulterated fuel commonly known as ‘changanya’ is common in transit towns such as Kabwe.
He has reiterated that the trade in ‘Changanya’ does not only rob the government of the much-needed revenue but also damages motor vehicle engines as the product quality is compromised.
Mr Shimwambwa warned that while trade in ‘Changanya’ may appear to be cheap in the short term, it has a serious impact on the life span of motor vehicles.
And ERB Director, Corporate and Consumer Affairs, Mwiika Mulindima said the energy regulator is currently implementing its Eighth Business Strategic Plan (8BSP) for the period 2022 to 2026 that is premised on four strategic pillars.
Mr Mulindima said key among the pillars is stakeholder management with emphasis on the need for closer collaborations with stakeholders by ERB.
“This collaboration is at all levels; be it government, licensees, energy consumers or the general public. Therefore, we place particular emphasis on outreach and awareness activities which focus on stakeholder engagement such as the meeting we are having today,” he said.
He said ERB has since embarked on a series of outreach campaigns which have seen the regulator engage schools, present programmes on community radio stations as well as stakeholder engagement through ERB mobile office.
