Kampala. Government has clarified that the recent hike of fuel prices is applicable to all forms of fuel – leaded, unleaded, ethanol blended, and adulterated.
This comes after the arrest of Opposition politicians over the walk to work protests and confusion created after a set of over enthusiastic Ugandan motorists refused to pay at the new rate for the adulterated petrol, claiming that the effective price of “pure” petrol around the country was already higher owing to adulteration.
“Look, there should be no confusion; prices have been raised across the board, and the hike applies to all forms of petrol,” a statement from the Ministry of Energy read. Later talking to UCN, a ministry official at the Media Center elaborated the rationale.
Despite over 20 taxis being grounded cause of such fuel, the official went on to add “While it’s true that there is less than a liter of pure petrol in the adulterated version, the cost of adulteration has also gone up in the recent years”.
The official pointed out that the petrol stations that sell the adulterated fuel take risky and costly steps such as buying water, parking in Mabira Forest to mix in chemicals as well as bribing, because of which the Association of Petrol Stations (APS) has been asking to raise the prices even before the prices in neighbouring Kenya go up.
“There are other operational costs involved too in adulteration, which warrants no less than the current price hike,” the official explained.
When asked why the government was paying attention to APS needs and concerns instead of closing and prosecuting them, the official told UCN to stop kidding.
When further asked why were petrol prices in Uganda higher than those in the USA and neighboring countries despite the cost of living there being higher than Uganda, the official said, “Government clarified during the walk-to-work protests that – we are not the US.”
