Burundi : authorities struggle to supply fuel but no longer want vehicles at petrol stations

Burundian police announced Thursday that it is now prohibited to park vehicles at a petrol station without fuel. It evokes the facilitation of traffic on the road and the concern to ensure the safety of people and property. But a certain opinion thinks that Burundian authorities, who cannot find a solution to the fuel crisis which has lasted more than three years, want to avoid images of long lines of vehicles at empty petrol stations, circulate more. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The General Inspectorate of the National Police of Burundi (PNB) has prohibited owners of vehicles from parking them along the road near petrol stations without fuel.

Burundian police spokesperson Désiré Nduwimana was clearer in his statement on Thursday : no vehicle will be tolerated in front of a fuel distribution point that does not have any.

“It is strictly forbidden to form queues of vehicles along the road or in front of petrol stations waiting for fuel. It is rather hoped that someone who wants to stock up on fuel is informed and knows at which petrol station he will find the fuel he neeeds,” announced Désiré Nduwimana on Thursday.

The police also remind that running out of fuel is no longer tolerated.

Drivers of these devices must first of all reassure themselves that they have sufficient fuel to avoid stopping them in the middle of the road.

Recalcitrants will face sanctions. Fines of up to 50 thousand Burundi francs are planned in this context, according to drivers who have already been punished.

For Désiré Nduwimana, these measures are taken with the aim of “facilitating traffic on the roadways” and with the constant aim of “ensuring the protection of property and people”.

The observation is that in recent days, people looking for fuel are no longer afraid to leave their vehicles in front of petrol stations for more than 7 days in the hope of being served first. Others experience the ordeal of spending entire nights in cars to ensure their safety. Two weeks ago, agents assigned to petrol stations began telling vehicle owners that it is no longer authorized to park them in front of fuel distribution points that do not have them.

“You do not have the right to take a vehicle without fuel to the stations, vehicles without fuel must be parked at home. This is a measure that comes from above,” police stationed at gas stations in the commercial city Bujumbura repeatedly told drivers.

Some have seen their plates removed, helplessly assisting and being forced to pay fines.

Real reasons

Even if the PNB mentions the facilitation of traffic on roadways and the protection of property and people, local and foreign observers see another explanation.

“The fuel crisis which has lasted more than three years is far from being resolved. The Burundian authorities are embarrassed to see the images of long lines of vehicles at empty petrol stations circulating throughout the world. “There is no other country in the world where we can see this situation. In fact, they want to protect what remains of the good image of Burundi”, they analyze.

SOS Médias Burundi has heard from local journalists who have been forced in recent days to delete images taken in parking lots without buses in the commercial capital in particular.

“It is you who are tarnishing the image of our country by spreading these images,” police officers made threats against our colleagues.

The situation is so complicated that even the police spokesperson did not invite the media to his communication to “avoid questions”. Désiré Nduwimana made an audio recording which he distributed notably through a WhatsApp group bringing together journalists from the local press and spokespersons for state institutions.

The authorities of the small East African nation who had chosen to keep the Burundians in hope by publishing statements on countless quantities of fuel stored at the port of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania during the three recent years, have preferred to remain silent in recent days, no longer having any proposed solution.

Even Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye who had hoped for a magic remedy by entrusting the management of oil products to Regideso, the only state company which struggles to satisfy the Burundians with water and electricity for which it is in charge and who had declared that “I will take charge of fuel management myself”, seems to have been surpassed by the situation.

Burundian analysts in economy matters including Faustin Ndikumana, chairman of the local NGO PARCEM (Speech and Action for the revival of consciousness and mentality change), plead for a roundtable of all stakeholders in the fuel sector to “find a solution to this crisis that lasts long”.