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Fuel shortages
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe
Extract from Weekly Media Update No. 2002-46
December 9th - December 15th 2002

The public media's coverage of the fuel shortages must have left its audiences utterly confused through its unsubstantiated and bewildering explanations for the crisis. In fact, so determined was the public media in trying to absolve government from any blame for the crisis that they ended up providing their audiences with contradictory explanations for the causes of the shortage.

They initially attributed the shortage to technical problems, but later reported that "corruption" within the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (NOCZIM) was causing the shortage. The Chronicle ignored this important story.

However, the private media duly explored the reasons for the shortage more thoroughly. In their initial reports, The Herald and ZTV (11/12) quoted deputy minister of energy, Reuben Marumahoko, reassuring the nation that the fuel situation would improve by the end of the week. He was quoted as having said, "The shortages are a result of technical problems which were being experienced with the Beira pipeline" adding "pumping only started yesterday (Tuesday, 10/12)".

There was no elaboration on the nature of the technical problems. Instead, ZBC (ZTV & 3FM, 12/12, 8pm & Radio Zimbabwe, 14/12, 6am) came up with a myriad of other unsubstantiated reasons for the fuel shortages. In its reports, ZBC alleged that the shortages were a result of "corruption, underhand dealings and misadministration (sic) within NOCZIM working in consent with officials from Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development".

The public broadcaster also accused the NOCZIM officials of trying to create a parallel market for fuel "in an attempt to cripple the economy since the government has taken concrete steps to wipe out the foreign currency parallel market".

ZBC, in the same bulletins, further quoted unnamed sources within NOCZIM as having said: "NOCZIM was blamed for procuring fuel from companies which demand forex instead of using Tamoil from Libya".
There was no information on the alleged companies from which NOCZIM had chosen to buy fuel for cash, nor did it explain fully why NOCZIM was doing that.

ZTV, in the same bulletin, dismissed reports that NOCZIM had no foreign currency to honour the Tamoil deal saying "the other cash accounts are being paid for highlighting the parastatal's reluctance to promote the credit facility". It did not clarify which accounts it was referring to. Rather, it alleged that while NOCZIM had claimed that British agents were frustrating the Tamoil deal, "available information. suggests that such agents are working in tandem with NOCZIM, the Reserve Bank and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development officials opposed to the Tamoil deal".

No comment was accessed from NOCZIM, nor did it provide a shred of evidence to support this alarming allegation.

ZBC also insinuated that the shortages were linked to the MDC and quoted unnamed commentators as having said: "NOCZIM owes Zimbabweans an explanation over the sinister coincidence of the fuel shortage in the festive season and claims by the opposition MDC and its affiliates that December was D-day for mass action including stayaways".

To give a veil of credibility to its reports, ZTV reported that it had failed to get comment from NOCZIM officials and the energy minister, Amos Midzi who reportedly said he would comment the following day (13/12). However, no further attempts were made to get comment from Midzi who was shown on television at the ZANU PF conference in Chinhoyi. In fact, Midzi refused to give government's explanation in any of the media, although The Sunday News (15/12) quoted him merely stating that "Government had increased supplies to indigenous garages", as if that alone would solve the crisis.

The Herald (13/12, 14/12) also laid the blame at NOCZIM's door. The paper accused the parastatal of "pushing for cash deals with other international companies so as to profit from illegal foreign currency transactions", an accusation repeated in The Sunday News' (15/12) editorial comment.

NOCZIM officials were castigated for allegedly wanting to profiteer at the expense of the nation and were accused of seeking "ad hoc arrangements" that would "condemn Zimbabwe to permanent fuel shortages". Without providing any evidence to support these claims, the paper quoted an unnamed source further accusing NOCZIM of using "the old trick of starving the market" to force a price increase. However, The Herald (14/12) contradicted itself when it acknowledged that fuel shortages were a result
of a lack of foreign currency.

The private media dismissed the public media's attempt to accuse NOCZIM officials for the fuel shortage and put the blame squarely on government. For example, The Weekend Tribune (14/12) noted that NOCZIM officials were "government appointees and employees" and described the accusations as "the
height of stupidity", while The Standard (15/12) said ZANU PF had transformed itself "into a lying machine" because of the explanations it offers each time there is a crisis.

The Weekend Tribune also observed that private media reports warning of the collapse of the Libyan fuel deal and fuel shortages, which authorities dismissed as "sensationalism", have been vindicated. The paper noted that government had adopted the same attitude over food security earlier this year, telling the nation that food "was available to feed the nation" when "there are queues for maize-meal".

However, ZBC (ZTV, 14/12, 8pm & Radio Zimbabwe, 15/12, 1pm), The Sunday Mail and The Sunday News (15/12) reported President Mugabe as refusing to accept responsibility for the fuel crisis in his address to the ZANU PF people's national conference in Chinhoyi. Mugabe was quoted saying he did not
"understand why there are fuel problems in the country" as he had personally sealed a deal with Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi. Just like the public media, he accused unnamed officials of "offending the Libyans by going to companies that need foreign currency".

The two papers also unquestioningly reported Mugabe's attempt to shift attention to multi-national oil companies, whom he accused of profiteering at the expense of his government. The Daily Mirror (12/12) had earlier pursued this line of argument. It blamed multi-national companies for not welcoming government's "liberalisation" of the industry, saying they were "prepared to watch Zimbabwe run dry without lifting a finger to intervene". The paper however, did not examine the pros and cons of this government policy.

The analysis was only provided by The Business Tribune (12/12) of the same day. It pointed out that Mugabe's announcement that private companies should import fuel "has not had any takers because there is no price mechanism to make the importation of fuel by private players viable". The paper added:
"It is not a secret that the price of fuel is unsustainable, but perhaps, for political expediency, the status quo will prevail until Prophet Jeremiah intervenes".

Furthermore, The Business Tribune, The Financial Gazette (12/12) and The Zimbabwe Independent (13/12) quoted unnamed industry sources attributing the shortage to Zimbabwe's failure to secure foreign currency to pay off its debts with Libya's Tamoil and other fuel suppliers such as the Independent
Petroleum Group of Kuwait.

In fact, the private media have been consistent in revealing details of the deal since it was signed in September this year. And to its credit, The Zimbabwe Independent gave more detail on the Tamoil
deal by dwelling on the mechanics of the agreement, highlighting why it was not working.

Meanwhile, The Financial Gazette noted that the fuel shortage "is just one of a plethora of shortages of essential commodities affecting Zimbabwe". And indeed the private media was littered with reports on critical shortages of food and other commodities such as, Hunger fuels marriages and Food aid will be required until June next year: report, The Daily News (12/12); Bulawayo runs out of soft drinks, The Daily News, (14/12); Shortage of maize seed delays farmers, The Daily Mirror (9/12); Bread scandal at Chikurubi, The Daily Mirror (11/10), and The Financial Gazette (12/12), Govt begins grabbing maize from white farmers.

Even The Herald (12/10), GMB set to impound undeclared grain from commercial farmers, confirmed private media reports of grain shortages.

Previous reports can be accessed at http://www.mmpz.org.zw

Visit the MMPZ fact sheet

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