Call for mandatory blending of fuel

stockpiling 10 million litres of the product at Chisumbanje and exhausting storage capacity.
CZI president Dr Joseph Kanyekanye said the mandatory re-introduction of ethanol blends was in line with a broader national interest and would not be symptomatic of a “command economy”.
“In line with world trends we endorse the introduction of mandatory blending of a minimum of E10 (and discretionary E20) as soon as practically possible, but with a deadline up to the end of the year,” he said.

“CZI believes in running an economy with minimum regulations. We do not, and we will never, subscribe to a command economy. But there should be an overarching national interest,” he added.
Dr Kanyekanye also warned that the stand-off between Government and the US$600 million Chisumbanje ethanol project is sending the wrong signals to potential new investors generally.

“The ethanol plant can act as a yardstick for other investors and the failure to ensure its success will impact negatively on the inflow of investment in the country,” he said.
Green Fuel, the company behind the project, has struggled to convince the Government to introduce mandatory blending of petrol and ethanol as the latter is not convinced that the pricing for the blended fuel is reasonable.
Energy Minister Elton Mangoma recently questioned why Green Fuel’s blended fuel costs in excess of US$1 while in other countries prices average around US$0,75.
Green Fuel, however, has responded saying the “reasonable prices” being cited by Government are for countries that have been blending for decades and who also have subsidies, such as Brazil.

Because of the stalemate, 600 of the Chisumbanje plant’s employees have already been sent home with the jobs of another 4 500’s future said to be “uncertain”.
There have been calls from some quarters for Green Fuel to export its ethanol, but the company contends that this is rendered almost impossible due to the sanctions that are presently imposed on the country, in addition to logistical concerns due to an inefficient railway system.

On the other hand, Dr Kanyekanye added that introducing mandatory blending would help the country in terms of reducing the negative balance-of-payments position, which currently stands around US$2,4 billion.
Official trade figures show that Zimbabwe imports fuel worth around US$1,2 billion annually, which, Dr Kanyekanye noted, constitutes around half of Government’s annual revenue.

“The amount of money saved by utilising the ethanol from Chisumbanje can be channelled towards the country’s national debt, payment of civil servants among other pressing issues,” said the CZI president.