Relief for motorists as fuel prices drop on 59.5bn/- Government subsidy

Motorists will this month breathe a sigh of relief after the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) announced a drop in fuel cap prices that will be effective this afternoon.

This follows a 59.58bn/- Government subsidy for this month as part of its commitment to lessen the adverse effects of high fuel prices to the public and the economy at large.

According to the energy regulator, motorists in Dar es Salaam will this month have to pay 2,886/- for a litre of petrol and 3,083/- per litre of diesel representing an 83 and 42 percent drop as compared to last month’s cap prices.

Those in Tanga and Mtwara region will pay 2,924/= and 2,908/- per litre of petrol and 3,108/- and 3,099/- per litre of diesel respectively.

The world oil prices (FOB) for August 2022 that have been used for computation of local fuel prices in  October 2022 decreased by 7.4 per cent and 3.9 per cent for petrol, diesel respectively, compared with the same prices for July 2022, Ewura said in a statement.

“The impact of such decreases has been outweighed by an increase in premiums in the local market by between 50 per cent and 163 per cent depending on the port and product compared to the premiums used in the September 2022 pricing,” the statement read.

EWURA urged that retailers at Northern regions of Tanga, Kilimanjaro, Arusha, and Manyara are required to source the products in Tanga while retailers at Southern regions Mtwara, Lindi, and Ruvuma are required to source the products in Mtwara.

“Oil marketing companies are free to sell their products at a price that gives them a competitive advantage provided that, such price does not exceed the price cap and is not below the floor price for the relevant product as it is computed pursuant to the EWURA’s Petroleum Products Prices Setting,” the energy regulator said.