Energy ministry should act tough on fake fuel

Just as the country is trying to come to terms with a surveillance report by Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) for 2017 and 2018, indicating that more than 54 per cent of goods on the market are fake, another bombshell has been dropped.
The Ministry of Energy and UNBS have listed 45 filling stations said to have been selling adulterated fuel in the past months. A circular from the Petroleum Supply Department in the Energy ministry said the 45 fuel stations had failed the quarterly fuel marking exercise that differentiates adulterated fuel from the unadulterated one.
This grim situation becomes more worrying given that the blacklisted fuel stations have long fed motorists with substandard fuel, which ultimately has gravely impacted the engine of motor vehicles and cycles.
Worse still, while only 45 filling stations have been blacklisted, the number could be higher given that officials in the Energy ministry and UNBS do not seem to have adequate manpower to undertake fuel marking across the country. They also blame the proliferation of districts in the country, which undermines effective monitoring of filling stations and marking their fuel stock.
Perhaps this explains why most of the faulted filling stations are located in Kampala, Gulu, Kabale, Wakiso, Mukobo, Luweero, Jinja, Kayunga, and Wakiso districts.
The implication is that while the proprietors of the disreputable filling stations continue to laugh all the way to the bank, the unsuspecting motorists, whose vehicles are served adulterated fuel, continue to incur the high cost of cleaning, repairing or even replacing the engine of their vehicles, which get destroyed by the poor quality fuel.
It, therefore, comes as great relief to motorists, that the Petroleum Supply Department in the Energy ministry has resolved to seal off the affected filling stations until they sort out the required remedial actions.
However, both the ministry and UNBS still need to do more. For instance, they should also ensure that the proprietors of the blacklisted filling stations are arrested and prosecuted for dealing in adulterated fuel, which tantamount to fraud.
But most importantly, there are arguably too many filling stations in the country and more are still mushrooming. The sheer number of these stations makes it difficult to carry out proper monitoring of the fuel quality as well as their operations.
As we call for a check on the proliferation of filling stations in the country, we also expect that the Energy industry must boost its capacity and be able to guarantee that the fuel served to motorists are up to the requisite standard.

The issue: Adulterated fuel
Our view: As we call for a check on the proliferation of filling stations in the country, we also expect that the Energy industry must boost its capacity and be able to guarantee that the fuel served to motorists are up to the requisite standard.