114 stations dealing in smuggled fuel, says ministry

Kampala.

At least 114 fuel pump stations are involved in smuggling petroleum products, according to ministry of Energy and Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS).
Rev Frank Tukwasibwe, the commissioner of Petroleum Supply at the Energy Ministry, clarified that the fuel stations named in a story published by Daily Monitor yesterday, are actually involved in selling smuggled petroleum products, adding they will be penalised in accordance with administrative guidelines and repeat offenders risk revoking their licenses.
“The public is hereby notified of the following stations [published on page 52] that were faulted during the period [between] August 2017 and March 2018,” a notice published in today’s Daily Monitor, says.
However, Rev Tukwasibwe said, the failure rate of fuel in the country had dropped from 29.1 per cent in 2009 to 0.5 per cent in March 2018 as a result of the continued fuel marking and quality control programmes.
Fuel marking, which is conducted by UNBS, involves administering of a chemical - either T1 for petrol and diesel or T2 for kerosene - that is coded into fuel and through a testing process adulterated or unmarked fuel can be distinguished.
However, the exercise, which was introduced in 1999 by the Ministry of Energy in collaboration with fuel marketing companies, has been hampered by stuffing.
Currently, the Ministry of Energy and UNBS are conducting a campaign under the fuel marking and quality monitoring programme to ensure that petroleum products on the market comply with set standards and offer value-for-money in a fair and competitive environment.