Zimbabwe’s fuel prices are the highest world despite
government’s one-sided decision in August 2013 to enforce mandatory blending of
petroleum products, claiming it would bring down prices and reduce the
country’s import bill.
Government has increased the mandatory
blending of unleaded petrol from five percent ethanol to 10 percent with
immediate effect. Until January, fuel was blended by 15 percent ethanol, but
was reduced to five percent between February and March because of a shortage of
the blend.
“It is hereby notified that, in terms of
section 4 (1) of the petroleum regulations, 2013, published in Statutory
Instrument 17 of 2013, as amended by Statutory Instrument 81 of 2014, the
minister approves the current level of mandatory blending to 10 per centum,” he
said in a government gazette published Wednesday.
“The consequence of this approval is that all
licensee operators shall, from the date of publication of this notice, be
mandated to sell unleaded petrol which is blended at E10,” he added.
Blends are mixtures of traditional and
alternative fuels in varying percentages. Blends can be thought of as
transitional fuels. The lowest-percentage blends are being marketed and
introduced to work with current technologies while paving the way for future
integration.
