Burundi: the oil sector reorganized, Regideso “out”

With the rearrangement of the oil sector launched last Thursday, Regideso, the state company in charge of water and electricity distribution, had its license to import fuel from the port of Dar-es- Salaam in Tanzania, withdrawn. The license to import petroleum products to Burundi will then be assigned to another company. The decision was announced by the Minister of Energy and Mines Ibrahim Uwizeye in a meeting held the day before with oil sector operators in Burundi. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

In the new organization of this sector, vehicles are no longer free to refuel at any service station.

Each category of vehicles will now refuel at designated service stations.

Thus, the dump trucks will get their fuel supplies from seven service stations located in different districts of the commercial city Bujumbura.

Public transport buses, like car taxis, were assigned to the other seven service stations.

Minister Uwizeye’s press release indicates that motorcycles and tricycles will refuel at pumps located in their respective zones where they work.

The minister explained that “the objective of this new reorganization of the oil sector was motivated by the concern to preserve order in the management of supplies of petroleum products.”

According to the document, service hours for gas stations have been set from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Other vehicles which are not in the above categories will continue to be supplied as usual.

Regideso is sidelined

According to a source within the ministry in charge of the management of petroleum products, “the recurring shortage of fuel in Burundi is linked to a misunderstanding between the interpetrol company and the government, after the withdrawal of the license to import oil from that companies to grant it to Regideso, without providing the latter with the technical and financial capacities to accomplish this mission.

“We do not know whether the license will be reassigned to Interpetrol or another company,” our source said.

Some residents of the economic capital where petroleum products land before being redistributed to other provinces of the small East African nation, who spoke to SOS Médias Burundi, remain skeptical about the effectiveness of these new measures. Others say it’s still too early to judge.

Everyone demand that the government can take all necessary steps to ensure that fuel is available in Burundi.

“The lives of an entire people depend on it,” say city dwellers in the city of Bujumbura.

Recently, the minister in charge of trade Marie Chantal Nijimbere confirmed to the deputies that “the shortage of fuel affects the entire national economy” and regretted that “we cannot import the fuel we need because the lack of foreign currency remains our main challenge.