Mugabe’s government, grappling with the country’s worst political and economic crisis since independence in 1980, hiked retail fuel prices by up to 300 percent in April, but petrol still commands much higher prices on the black market. The Herald newspaper said police raided Comoil — owned by legislator Saviour Kasukuwere — and impounded 35,000 litres of petrol and diesel. Kasukuwere is a member of the decision-making politburo in Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party. Police were not immediately available for comment on the case, one of the first to target a senior ZANU-PF member. Zimbabwe’s fuel woes have worsened since a trade deal with supplier Libya collapsed last November, a sign of the country’s economic crisis which has also brought shortages of foreign currency, food and local banknotes.
Bob ran out of stuff to give Libya for the oil.
| Muammar holds the mortgage on Zim-Bob-We. I think he's going to give it to his kid as a wedding present, when he marries the Ugandan princess... |
Limited fuel supplies have become especially galling for Zimbabweans, with public transport companies hiking prices and motorists forced to queue for hours to fill their tanks. The government has liberalised fuel imports to ease shortages, ending a monopoly formerly held by state oil company NOCZIM. But new entrants to the sector say they cannot viably operate at the prices set by the state. The Herald said Comoil was selling petrol and diesel at up to seven times the official rates. Kasukuwere was not available for comment on Wednesday. The newspaper did not say if he might face charges.
Sounds like Mr. Kasukuwere didn’t give Bob his piece of the action. Guess he’ll have to pay a "fine". |