Fatshimetrie retraces the burning news that is shaking the city of Beni, in the province of North Kivu. On this Sunday, November 10, residents are facing a major disruption in their daily lives due to a fuel shortage that has appeared since the day before.
The consequences of this crisis are multiple and significantly impact the lives of Benikois. Indeed, the supply of fuel, vital for many sectors of activity, has become the Gordian knot of a tense situation. The tanker trucks, responsible for supplying the city with fuel, are currently blocked at the border of Kasindi Lubirigha.
A domino effect has thus been triggered, hitting local gas stations hard, which display an alarming picture of empty tanks. In this momentum, fuel dealers, the famous “kadaffis”, have smelled a bargain and are indulging in a surge in prices, exploiting the scarcity to inflate their margins to the detriment of consumers.
The exorbitant cost of fuel is not limited to pump admissions, but also extends to the rates of transport services such as motorcycle taxis. Drivers, feeling trapped by this crisis, have revised upwards the price of their trips, weighing down the budget of users forced to pay the high price to travel.
The origin of this major dysfunction lies at the level of the customs authorities, more precisely at the General Directorate of Customs and Assizes (DGDA) of the Kasindi Lubirigha border post. The sudden application of new customs tariffs on fuel exports has caught local stakeholders off guard, causing trucks to be blocked and leading to a paralysis of fuel supplies.
The ongoing negotiations between the authorities and exporters seem to be the only way out of this tense situation. However, efforts to obtain the DGDA’s version have so far been in vain, leaving the inhabitants of Beni uncertain about the imminent resolution of this problem.
In short, the current fuel shortage in Beni reveals the flaws in a system that struggles to anticipate and effectively manage crisis situations. The economic and social consequences of this dysfunction are disastrous for a population already weakened by various security and social issues. It is urgent that concerted and sustainable measures be taken to prevent such crises from recurring in the future, thus preserving the well-being and stability of the inhabitants of Beni.