Zera dismisses Zim dollar fuel hoax

The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (zera) has not designated any service station to sell fuel exclusively in Zimbabwe dollars, contrary to reports circulating on social media.

In a statement yesterday, the regulator dismissed the notice purporting that close to 50 fuel stations had been selected to sell their products in local currency.

“The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority takes note of a message circulating on social media platforms with a list of service stations purported to begin selling RTGS (Zimbabwe dollar) fuel.

“While the Government and its relevant agencies are working on modalities to roll out RTGS fuel to the public, there has not been any outlets designated to sell fuel in RTGS,” reads the statement.

“The public will be informed through the normal channels once a position has been confirmed by Government. zera distances itself from this list and any information in that regard.”

The regulator recently unearthed massive abuse of the Zimbabwe dollar fuel facility by oil marketers that are demanding US dollar payments despite accessing foreign currency on the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s auction.

zera chief executive officer Mr Edington Mazambani said: “The amount of funds allocated for fuel imports does not reconcile with RTGS fuel available on the market.

“Some matters have been referred to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and police.” The Sunday Mail