Brazzaville has been affected for almost two weeks by a shortage of petrol which is disrupting economic activities. Taxi drivers and other motorists are fed up. This shortage is due according to the National Petroleum Company of Congo (SNPC) to the scarcity and the rise in the price of petroleum products, to the logistical constraints related to their delivery as well as to the works which are taking place at the moment.
With our correspondent in Brazzaville, Loicia Martia
In this service station in the fourth arrondissement, located near the boulevard Alfred Raoul, the vehicles which have been waiting for long hours form a V. In front of the dry pumps, there is no one. Almost at the end of a line that stretches for several tens of meters, Fila waits while listening to music.
This 38-year-old taxi driver arrived on the scene at 5 a.m., but until noon a drop had not been served. ” We can stay here until evening, we won’t have the fuel. We can come back tomorrow. Fuel is really hard to find. We don’t know if we will deliver “, he complains.
Florent, leaning against the wall of the restaurant adjoining the resort, is also a taxi driver. He does not understand why Brazzaville suffers from recurring gasoline shortages. ” We have always been victims of this, every year. How we traders can get used to scarcity. If we get used to scarcity, we’re dead. We need to rectify this situation. “, he storms.
This shortage has also become a means of making more money in certain stations which manage to obtain a few cubic meters of the precious liquid.
Gas station attendants require a tip before serving customers. ” When we come to fill up, they sometimes ask us for up to 5,000 FCFA. This is not good “, denounces another taxi driver on condition of anonymity. The Brazzavillois will have to wait a few more days for a normal resumption of distribution.