‘Waive duty on liquid petroleum gas’

Conrad Mwanawashe Business Reporter
THE newly formed Zimbabwe Indigenous Gas Dealers Association (ZIDGA) has appealed to Government to waive duty on liquid petroleum gas to promote its usage as an alternative source of energy.

Duty on liquid petroleum is five percent while VAT of 15 percent is also charged.

ZIDGA believes that lowering duty on liquid petroleum gas would go a long way to increase usage of alternative energy sources and reduce demand for electricity and wood energy.

“We are appealing to Government to reduce duty for LPG gas to promote its usage,” said ZIDGA president Mr Simbarashe Mashava.

ZIDGA has embarked on a nationwide campaign to ensure all liquid petroleum gas dealers are formally registered in a bid to improve monitoring to ensure safe use of gas.

The campaign will also attempt to promote the use of liquid petroleum gas as an alternative source of energy as opposed to wood energy.

“We want to launch a ‘Go Gas Campaign’ in all cities and towns so that we reduce deforestation by 2020.

“We want many Zimbabweans to use gas in a safer way and this will cover the gap of electricity shortages in Zimbabwe,” said Mr Mashava.

Mr Mashava said most of the indigenous dealers have failed to register with the regulatory authorities due to the high registration fees charged by the Environmental Management Authority.

EMA charges $520 for a permit per annum while the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority charges $100 registration fee for two years.

The liquid petroleum gas dealers have engaged EMA with a view to have the fees reduced but with no success.

Currently about 95 percent of the players in the sector are not formally registered.

The association’s campaign, which will take the form of site visits and training programmes for gas dealers. It will target the more than 500 gas dealers countrywide.

ZIDGA is planning to train players in the sector on safe ways of stocking and filling gas to reduce the risk of fire.

Due to the rise in demand for alternative sources of energy, there has been an influx of LPG gas dealers around the country many of whom are not licenced and lack basic safety training.

“We have almost 50 members nationwide currently and we are still recruiting more members.

“There is a potential of more than 500 members nationwide,” Mr Mashava said.