The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
KAMPALA, UGANDA | THE INDEPENDENT | Officials from the Uganda National Oil Company-UNOC say that they have eliminated unscrupulous middlemen, whom they accuse of hoarding fuel and later exploiting other dealers.
They say that some petroleum dealers have limited capital, which deters them from purchasing fuel products in Kenya and relies on big dealers across the country, most of whom were manipulating prices to the detriment of pump consumers, who are left to grapple with high prices.
Speaking to journalists on Friday, UNOC’s terminal operations manager, Eng. Rwakasanga Kateera says that such practices were forcing retailers out of business since most of them lacked the agility to survive through the locally generated price hype.
Rwakasanga however says that, now all fuel dealers can directly purchase products from the Jinja terminal, refill their stations and directly sell to final consumers at nationally agreeable prices.
Rwakasanga argues that UNOC is unable to reign over the other two key factors affecting fuel prices in the market which comprise of dollar exchange rate and the international crude oil prices, but they have since killed the monopoly of big oil marketing companies- OMC, fond of creating unnecessary scarcities to fleece money from the citizens.
Rwakasanga notes that, ever since their full operationalization in 2022, they supply fuel to over 72 OMCs largely during shortages and other supply disturbances from big players in the industry.
A branch manager of one of the big OMCs in the Busoga sub-region, who spoke on condition of anonymity says that this arrangement is favouring small players who would spend more than two days transporting fuel from Eldoret to Uganda.
He says that this kind of arrangement is, however, deterring them from profit maximization as they were profits all the way from transportation and clearance at the border points, respectively however, with UNOC’s intervention, their cash cow has been killed.
He says that, in the past year, most of their shareholders have pulled out of the business, which is overly frustrating the general thriving of their once stable and flourishing enterprises.
Rwakasanga says that, with more players coming on board, they have plans to expand the Jinja terminal to construct more storage facilities, which will overly smoothen efficient services to their clients.
He says that they envision high demand for their products and expansion is a key avenue of creating befitting avenues to meet the clientele demands on time.
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