Senator riled over fuel price hikes by ZERA, says Zimbabwe blends fuel with ethanol hence prices must be affordable
A MEMBER of the Senate has blasted authorities for increasing fuel prices twice in less than two weeks.
Senator Jerry Gotora of Hwedza, Mashonaland East Province on a point of national interest queried why the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) continues to hike the precious commodity yet the country has several storage facilities to store fuel for years.
ZERA, last week increased fuel prices effective March 18, 2026, marking the second hike in recent weeks.
Petrol rose to US$2.17 per litre (from $1.71) and diesel to US$2.05 per litre (from US$1.77), a significant hike of approximately 26.9% for petrol and 15.8% for diesel respectively.
The increase is attributed to global oil price pressures driven by the Middle East conflict, with ZERA stating the hike is necessary to ensure consistent fuel supply.
“I have a point of national interest Mr. President. This morning (Thursday), I woke up to shocking news from the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA), where the price of fuel in this country has just made life difficult for everybody.
“Fuel, Mr. President, is as good as water because it fuels business, agriculture, conservation and literally everything. Our fuel in this country, in my view, is supposed to be very cheap. Why? Because we are blending with sugar,” Sen. Gotora told the acting Senate President.
Further, he elaborated that since Zimbabwe was blending with ethanol, the
actual cost of the imported fuel had been, therefore, reduced by the fact that Zimbabwe was generating part of its fuel locally.
The other point, the Sen. highlighted was that the country has a State pipeline from Beira to Harare and with a huge storage facility at Msasa, at the Mabvuku turnoff.
Referencing the war in the Middle East, Sen. Gotora said:”I personally do not understand the effect of the war in Iran, Israel and the United States of America or even the war in Russia and Ukraine because Zimbabwe is quite a distance away from these countries.”
According to him, “the underground facility in Mabvuku is so large that we should be able to store enough fuel to last us for years. I happen to know the facility’s size.”
Meanwhile, ZERA cited global oil market disruptions due to the Middle East conflict for the fuel price hike.
In a statement this week, ZERA said the hike in fuel prices was done to prevent shortages and avoid arbitrage by ensuring supply chain stability.
Due to this alarming fuel price increase, Zimbabwe now holds one of the highest fuel prices in Sub-Saharan Africa and the government is encouraging the importation of diesel by road to bolster supply. _*NewZimbabwe*_
