Malawi launched a nationwide crackdown on fuel hoarders and black market sellers as the nation struggles with shortages that have left truckers queuing for up to a week and bus fares doubling on some routes.
Diesel and petrol have been scarce for weeks because the country lacks the hard currency to buy fuel supplies, sparking a scramble for dollars that has seen the central bank sell off gold to pay suppliers and the government return to the IMF for a bailout.
Malawi, which has among the highest fuel pump prices in Africa at more than $3 a liter, highlights the impact of a $100-plus per barrel crude price on import-dependent economies with thin buffers. Unlicensed resellers face arrest, and stations caught hoarding can lose their license under the new measures.
The IMF last week said it was making “considerable progress” in designing a “package of macroeconomic policies.” Its last program was a $175 million loan that expired in May last year, the latest in a string of support packages for one of the continent’s poorest countries, whose agriculture-based economy has been hit hard by extreme weather patterns.