Petroleum Outlets Association of Kenya (POAK) chairman Martin Chomba has allayed fears of a looming shortage of fuel in the country.
Chomba said the association which brings together all the non-franchise petroleum dealers across the country is always the first to be hit in case there is a hitch in the supply of petroleum products.
According to the official, there are enough products to last the country weeks with more ships scheduled for discharge.
“What is happening in the market is that some Oil Marketing Companies are unable to raise as many dollars as they would, to pay as much fuel as they require once the fuel docks in Mombasa,” he said.
“This is probably what is informing some issues in terms of running dry pumps and we believe this is the issue the government is trying to address in terms of government-to-government procurement so that we can ease the pressure that the shilling is getting from the dollar.”
He said the economies all are grappling with issues of accessibility of dollars and called on the government to expedite the process and help the OMCs access dollars when they need them.
This, he said, will enable them to become liquid as much as they would want to as some of them have huge market shares in the country.
This comes amid reports of another looming fuel shortage crisis with major dealers already rationing products.
Oil Marketing Companies are demanding about Sh55 billion from the government’s fuel subsidy programmes even as the dollar shortage chocks imports.
The pending bills from the petrol price stabilisation mechanism (fuel subsidy) are from three supply cycles, insiders in the industry told the Star on Tuesday.
This, they say, has put pressure on the major OMCs who are also struggling to secure the much-needed US dollar currency to import products.
