By Ziyah News Reporter
The Government of Zimbabwe through the Ministry of Energy and Power Development has effectively shut the door on the selling of unleaded petrol in the country taking the nation back into mandatory of petrol effective 7 September 2024.
The Ministry made the pronouncement in the Government Gazette under notice on Mandatory Blending of Anhydrous Ethanol with Unleaded Petrol) (Amendment) Regulations, 2024 (No. 6)
“It is hereby notified that the Minister of Energy and Power Development, after consultation with the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority has, in terms of section 57(1) of the Petroleum Act [Chapter 13:22], made the following regulations:-“
“These regulations may be cited as the Petroleum (Mandatory Blending of Anhydrous Ethanol with Unleaded Petrol) (Amendment) Regulations, 2024 (No. 6).Section 3 of the Petroleum (Mandatory Blending of Anhydrous Ethanol with Unleaded Petrol) Regulations, 2013, published in Statutory Instrument 17 of 2013, is repealed and substituted by the following-
“These regulations shall apply to all unleaded petrol imported into Zimbabwe Subsection (1) shall come into operation seven days from the date of publication of these regulations.”
The law that speaks to mandatory blending is already there but Government had allowed players in the sector to continue selling unleaded petrol. Recently, some filling stations have been caught on the wrong side of the law by ZERA selling leaded petrol as unleaded one and vice versa.