Botswana government through the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security told the public that the country is experiencing a supply-demand mismatch.
“Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) operating in Botswana have informed the government of Botswana that their supply chains have been disrupted, hence they are experiencing some challenges meeting the demand,” the statement issued by the ministry on Monday said.
Over 90 percent of Botswana’s fuel is supplied by the private sector through oil marketing companies. Botswana Oil Limited, which is the government’s arm in the oil sector, imports limited volumes for strategic stocks, and commercial stocks based on orders from oil companies.
“The government has so far released 30.8 million liters of combined strategic and commercial stocks to assist the OMCs. However the demand still exceeds the supply. Panic buying is a major contributor to the rapid depletion of fuel at filling stations”, said the statement.
Botswana has been experiencing a shortage of fuel since June 27, 2020. The southern African country uses three million liters of fuel per day but the consumption has since doubled because of stockpiling of fuel on jerry cans by the public.
Meanwhile, members of the public are also advised that as fuel is a regulated commodity, its illicit trading is prohibited. Any person found selling fuel without a license will be liable to a fine.
