Amidst a lot of rumours making the rounds that there is acute shortage of fuel it has been clarified by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Edward Hinga Sandy that fuel, especially petrol, is available for the foreseeable future despite appearances of a shortage.
A press release from the Ministry stated that it had noticed that there appears to be a shortage in the volume of fuel and accessibility in obtaining it at certain points in the country especially the capital, Freetown.
It added that whilst this tension has caused an understandable crisis, ‘we will like to assure the public that this is just not the case. Fuel is available across the country.’
The release added that however, one of the nation’s leading oil marketing company (OMC) underwent some difficulty to sufficiently supply fuel at their outlets due to some internal issues. It went on to state that this created an unwanted burden on other OMCs to assuage the additional demand, leading to queues and exploitation by unscrupulous citizens, resulting in additional difficulties.
‘As a proactive Government, the Ministry of Trade and Industry has however intervened and provided the additional support needed to the specific OMC and the matter has been resolved. Fuel especially petrol is now available across the country,’ the release maintained.
It went on to advise against granting attention to social media journalists who capitalize on situations like these to spread unsubstantiated assumptions and presuppositions.
It went on to commend citizens for their patience and understanding during the short difficulty.
