Uganda advised to stock fuel as Kenya heads for elections

Uganda advised to stock fuel as Kenya heads for elections

As Kenya heads for elections, Uganda’s  Natural Resources committee in Parliament has advised Government to stock enough quantities of fuel .

The committee observes that previous elections in the neighboring East African country have significantly affected fuel supply into Uganda. The worst case scenario was the 2007 post-election violence which interrupted fuel supply causing a severe crisis as fuel depots ran dry in Uganda and Burundi.

Kenya goes to the polls on August 8, to elect the President, his deputy, Members of the Senate and National Assembly as well as County Governors and Ward Representatives). As this date draws closer, Members of the Natural Resources Committee are bothered over the state of Uganda’s fuel reserves.

Committee members observed, in a report to Parliament, that Uganda needs to improve its petroleum storage capacity by adequately stocking the storage facilities in Jinja. The reserves have the capacity to store up to 30 million litres of fuel. This includes 20 litres of Petrol and 10 litres of diesel.

At the time of its establishment, the reserves were meant to offer a six-month cushion in case of scarcity. There are fears however that they can barely take Ugandans 10 days in case of any shock due to the more than tenfold increase in motor vehicle fleet. By 2013, Uganda’s annual consumption of petroleum products was estimated at about 1.5 billion litres.