Transporters in Juba on Monday are set to reduce transport fares across the city as the government gave fuel subsidies to two bulk fuel supply companies.
Pacific Petroleum and National Oil and Gas Company, are the two petrol stations contracted by the government to sell both petrol and diesel at SSP 2,700 (USD 0.9) per liter as opposed to SSP 3,700 SSP (USD 1.2) in the unsubsidized petrol stations.
Speaking to reporters in Juba, James Deng Malim, the Managing Director of National Oil and Gas Company, said his company and Pacific Petroleum have been contracted by the government to supply fuel at a lower price and have been given hard currency to import petrol and diesel and been exempted from paying taxes.
“We are selling fuel at a subsidized price because the government gives us foreign currency so we are buying the fuel from Kenya using dollars and when we sell the fuel here, we take whatever we get from the sales to the bank which then gives us dollars,” he explained.
Deng said they have seven fuel stations in Juba that sell subsidized fuel located in Gumbo, Sherikat, Jebel, Nyakuron West, Custom, Bilpam Road, and Gudele Road and very soon they will open others in Gudele and Juba Town.
He said once they stabilize fuel prices in Juba, they will also supply the subsidized fuel to the states.
The fuel dealer said they only sell the fuel to vehicles and motorcycles and they don’t sell in cans and drums to avoid people selling the fuel in the black market.
“We are advising our customers to come to our stations and line up. We have queues for rickshaws, public transport, and other means of transport, so, whenever they come, they need to abide by the rule of law and get services at the subsided price initiated and supported by the government,” he said. “We are thankful to our government because they care for their citizens and this fuel is for our citizens to use in their cars. We are not allowing containers and drums to take fuel, we are only pumping it from the pump to the tank of the different cars and others.”
For his part, Clement Wani Khamis, the fuel station manager at Pacific Petroleum in Juba’s Gumbo suburb, said the low price fuel prices have attracted many customers leading to long queues and the quadrupling of their sales since Sunday afternoon.
“The price of fuel is low that is why we have a lot of jam here at the station. We were told not to sell fuel in drums and containers so we are only fueling tricycles, motorcycles, and cars because we fear they might take the fuel to sell it in the black market,” he revealed. “In a day, we sell between 10,000 to 12,000 liters but before the subsidy, we sold around 1,500 liters.”
Meanwhile, Musa Herbert Adam, the operations manager of National Oil and Gas Company, said their target is public transport including boda-bodas, minibusses, and water tankers.
“We are selling fuel at SSP 2700 per liter and our focus is on public transport and water tankers so that they can help people, especially for transportation and supply of water where in some areas a drum is sold at SSP 5.000 which they blame on fuel,” he clarified. “So, we are trying to provide fuel at a lower price to help. We are still expecting to reduce the price because last week we were selling at SSP 2,900 SSP per liter but today (Monday), we are selling at 2,700 and we are still reducing and aim to sell at SSP 2,000 or below.”
Simon Tot, a motorcycle taxi (boda-boda) rider said the subsidized fuel is going to help him make more profit and he also plans to reduce the transport fare for his customers.
“This fuel will improve my business since I will get more profit than when I buy fuel from the other stations where the fuel is sold at SSP 3,500. With the cheap fuel, I can also reduce the charges for my customers,” he stated.