Tuesday 31 March 2026
Zim GBC News | Business Correspondent<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HARARE \u2013 Zimbabweans are reeling from a double fuel price hike in March, with former Finance Minister Tendai Biti labeling the increases \u201cspeculative and punitive,\u201d as the government simultaneously enforces a ban on individuals bringing fuel into the country from neighboring states without a license.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) first raised petrol to US$1.71 per litre and diesel to US$1.77 on 4 March. A second, sharper hike on 18 March pushed petrol to US$2.17 and diesel to US$2.05 per litre\u2014making Zimbabwe\u2019s fuel the most expensive in sub-Saharan Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking to the media in Harare, Biti, the convenor of the Constitution Defenders Forum (CDF), questioned the rationale behind the increases, pointing to existing domestic reserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very difficult period in our history, in our country. The working people are suffering. There\u2019s a barrage of attacks on the working people of Zimbabwe,\u201d Biti said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe price of fuel has been increased by more than 60 per cent to $2.20 a litre, which has now become the most expensive fuel in sub-Saharan Africa. This is notwithstanding that we had over 3 million litres of fuel already stocked at Feruka and Msasa, so that the recent fuel increases are nothing but speculative, punitive measures against the people of Zimbabwe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biti highlighted the irony that nations such as Zambia, whose fuel imports transit through Zimbabwean territory, now pay significantly less at the pump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe could and should have benefited from the buffer, the reserve buffer of fuel that we already have in the country. So the irony is that countries like Zambia, whose fuel actually passes through Zimbabwe, now have fuel that is considerably less than that of Zimbabwe,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the government has moved to close a long-standing avenue for relief used by motorists. Authorities are now strictly enforcing a new license requirement for anyone carrying fuel in portable containers\u2014including jerry cans\u2014at all ports of entry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Daily News reported that the strict controls, now enforced at Beitbridge and other border posts, aim to curb the parallel market and enhance safety. For years, Zimbabwean motorists have relied on cheaper fuel in South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, often returning with multiple jerry cans. Under the new regulations, that practice is prohibited without a valid license.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The contrast in regional policy could not be starker. On 27 March, Namibia announced a 50 per cent cut in fuel levies for three months starting 1 April. Namibia\u2019s Minister of Industries, Mines and Energy, Modestus Amutse, cited \u201chigh price volatility of petroleum products, which resulted from the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe objective is to smooth price volatility and ensure stability in domestic fuel prices,\u201d Amutse said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Zimbabwe, taxes now account for nearly 40 per cent of the petrol price. According to ZERA\u2019s Fuel Price Build-Up dated 18 March, the tax component jumped from US$0.5209 to US$0.857 per litre in just two weeks\u2014a 64.5 per cent increase. While the actual fuel product costs approximately US$1.18, the total tax burden now almost equals that cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPump prices are determined by international product prices, taxes and levies, and distribution margins,\u201d ZERA stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response to the crisis, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube announced on 24 March that the government plans to increase ethanol blending from E5 to E20 to reduce costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re talking to those who are supplying us with ethanol to increase the blending from 5% to 20% from E5 to E20, and we believe that that alone, in terms of analysis, could reduce the price by as much as US$0.18 or US$0.19 or thereabout,\u201d Ncube said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Minister also confirmed that levy reductions were used to cap diesel prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAlready we\u2019ve been revising taxes and levies. Last week, when the price of diesel moved up to US$2.05, it could have gone up to US$2.20, but the difference was due to the fact that we applied the levy reduction strategy on the diesel price and managed to cap it at US$2.05,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services added that Cabinet had approved the review of time-bound fuel taxes to contain inflation and protect consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biti further criticized the government\u2019s recent move requiring local suppliers to be paid in ZiG for goods sourced domestically, arguing that many of those products were originally purchased with foreign currency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also lamented what he described as a \u201cmassive clampdown on Zimbabwean citizens and the closure of all political space\u201d following the publication of Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 3 of 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is despite the fact that Zimbabweans have a right to freedom of expression codified in the Constitution, and have a right to freedom of assembly,\u201d Biti said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Zim GBC News | Global News From An African Perspective\u00a92026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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