Bujumbura : effects of the fuel shortage on transport are worsening

It has been three weeks since public transport in the commercial capital Bujumbura has been paralyzed. Originally, petroleum products were rare, especially fuel oil. At bus stops, passengers desperately wait for vehicles while the police try to bring order to the management of the few arriving buses. First consequence, the price of the transport ticket has increased as have the prices of basic necessities. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

At the parking lot for buses going to the north of the city, at the site of the former central market of Bujumbura, passengers queue without knowing if the buses will arrive.

“It is 3 p.m., passengers going to Kamenge, Cibitoke, Ngagara, Mutakura, Carama are queuing, they are desperately waiting for the buses. The vehicles are arriving slowly. The police are trying to maintain order to avoid overflow angry passengers,” said one passenger.

In the queues, people, just to kill time, talk about their ordeal. “It is impossible to get out of this, especially since the authorities are not taking this fuel problem seriously,” suggests a mother who is struggling to hide her concern.

“It’s normal that the car parks are without buses. They are parked in front of petrol stations. The drivers don’t know if they will be served today or tomorrow,” laments another passenger.

The consequences were not expected.

The price of the transport ticket on the RN3-Bujumbura-Rumonge route (southwest of the country), for example, has increased by 3,500 Burundi francs.

“We have to pay 10,000 francs while the price of the official transport ticket is 6,500 francs,” explains, very upset, a trader from the town center of Rumonge province who was going to Bujumbura.

Likewise, the prices of certain food products such as beans and rice have increased significantly since the shortage of petroleum products.

“The price of yellow beans increased from 3,400 to 4,000 francs, an increase of 600 francs per kg. The bean commonly called Kinure also experienced an increase ranging from 600 to 900 Burundi francs per kg. Rice also experienced an increase of more than 400 francs per kg. It’s very worrying,” complained a resident of Kanyosha in the south of the commercial city Bujumbura.

Residents of the municipality are tired of this situation and are desperate to see an outcome. The most resigned prefer to content themselves with complaining, “because we have seen that this is the last concern of the authorities”.