Paraffin shortage hits Francistown region

MOGOMOTSI BUZWANI
Correspondent | Monday June 7, 2010 00:00

Information reaching The Monitor shows that only four filling stations in Francistown supply the whole second city at large and some nearby places.

Paraffin shortage has also been reported in as far as places like Tutume and Maitengwe villages. This is due to that the supply companies have been struggling to bring in as much supplies as they could from South Africa.

In an interview yesterday with one of the customers who queued for paraffin for more than two hours revealed that they (customers) sometimes stay for a month without paraffin since February.

'We are really struggling to get paraffin nowadays since February and those without electricity like me sometimes spend night without lights at home. We are scared to use candles because they are a hazard to our lives. Recently my house burned to ashes in Gerald Estates, that's why I prefer not to use candle at all in the absence of paraffin.

Another problem we mostly encounter when paraffin is available is that we are sometimes told the paraffin machine is not working thus have to wait for its mechanical services. Like today, I have been here for about two hours waiting for the machine to work,' she said.

When speaking to Monarch Engine filling station Manager David Kaliyati, he revealed that they encounter paraffin shortage since early this year more so that the service station sometimes run for a week without the product.

'We are having the same problem in our service stations here in Francistown and we sometimes stay for a week without paraffin. This cause congestion in the station the time we get the product and some people don't even access to it because they buy it at large numbers at the same time,' he said.

The situation is likely to get worse and affect other oil products as the company Transnet which controls SA's rail and transportation has stuck, leaving oil companies in Botswana working in importing fuel through road.