By Samuel Kirimunda:
Museveni to punish businessmen hiking fuel prices. President Yoweri Museveni has called for a second cabinet meeting to find a lasting solution to fuel companies that have deliberately refused to lower their hiked prices.
On Monday, during the first meeting, the Minister for Energy and Mineral Development Ruth Nankabirwa informed the cabinet that fuel prices were hiked because of the covid-19 restrictions which were put up by the Ministry of Health.
Nankabirwa had earlier revealed that the restrictions had barred drivers of fuel trucks from entering the country without being tested again at the border. She promised the cabinet that since drivers were allowed to present their covid-19 test from Kenya, trucks had started moving into Uganda and soon prices would go down. “I have been informed that some trucks have started entering the country so this problem will soon get over.”
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However, on Tuesday, Jan 18, 2022, prices were still extremely high, an issue which has prompted President Museveni to call for an urgent cabinet meeting.
Speaking to the media, Minister Nankabirwa said that one of the agendas for the meeting called by the President is to find a solution in form of punishment or a penalty to fuel companies that have taken advantage of the situation to hike fuel prices.
“The ministry has already deployed a team of inspectors to monitor those fuel companies that are still having high prices yet on the international market prices have not changed at all. We discussed this same issue in the cabinet, but today we are finalizing it.”
“Such companies must lower prices immediately because at the international markets prices are still stable, this is unacceptable. I’m now thinking of coming up with an amendment in the Petroleum Supply Act to see that this commodity called ‘fuel,’ prices are determined by the government despite the fact that we are in a free market economy. We need to prevent such things from happening again because fuel is one of the bearings that drive the economy,” she added.
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I’m very sure we are going to come out with a proper and balanced solution for this problem. I’m promising Ugandans that today we are solving this issue completely, Nankabirwa noted.
Currently, a litre of petrol costs between Shs5000 and Shs10,000.
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