Uvira (DRC): Burundians go to stock up on fuel in the DRC, the price there is revised upwards

For months, Burundi has been suffering an unprecedented fuel shortage. Some Burundians decide to go look for it in Uvira in the province of South Kivu, in the east of the DRC.

Due to an increasing influx of Burundians into this border town with the small East African nation, the price of fuel at the pump has risen. Which makes residents angry as they denounce this increase and accuse the Burundians of being the cause.

On the other hand, Burundians speak out against an immigration agents who “extract money from us to allow fuel to pass through”.

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According to local sources in Uvira, a liter of fuel increased from 3,300 to 4,000 Congolese francs.

“Following the mass arrival of Burundian vehicles, fuel has become expensive. Service station managers have increased the price at the pump. 700 Congolese francs more for a single liter is too expensive. In percentage terms, it’s more than 20%. It’s too much,” denounce owners of vehicles, motorcycles and other vehicles using fuel.

Sources within the staff working at service stations indicate that “the Burundians who come here fill up their vehicles, in addition to several cans and barrels. They are good customers”, enthuse the pump attendants.

Dealers are taking advantage of the chaos

With the situation, Congolese are taking advantage of it to sell fuel on the black market near the border with Burundi.

“There are women and men who profit from it. They buy fuel in cans and take it to the black market at the Kavimvira border. We don’t know precisely how much they earn, but they certainly get a lot from it,” our sources say.

One of the women selling fuel at the Kavimvira border says she can sell up to 15 cans of 20 liters each, or 300 liters per day.

A young man who makes a living from the fuel trade surrounds himself with cans at the Kavimvira border, May 2024

Burundians, for their part, denounce the bribes demanded to them by immigration agents.

“At the border, immigration agents require us to pay 50,000 Burundian francs per can of gasoline coming from the DRC. If we add the price at the pump which is 170,000 thousand francs, a can of 20 liters costs 220,000 francs, or 11,000 Burundian francs per liter. It’s unimaginable what we’re experiencing,” Burundian motorists are outraged.

However, they say they have no other choice and that “we accept to suffer despite all this”.

Residents in Uvira are angry. They accuse the Burundians of being at the origin of the rise in the price of fuel at the pump, which has also caused the rise in the price of transport tickets in the city.

The service responsible for fuel management in Uvira explains, however, that the price increase is not caused by the Burundians who obtain their supplies in this town.

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A fuel seller carries empty cans at the Kavimvira border, May 2024