Malawi grapples with fuel crunch amid ongoing forex shortage

LILONGWE, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) — A prolonged fuel shortage is disrupting business in Malawi as the country has run out of foreign currency reserves, forcing fuel importers to stop their operations.
Since June, the government has managed to allocate only 37 million U.S. dollars every month, failing to meet the required 51 million dollars for the monthly importation of the commodity, Minister of Information and Digitalization Moses Kunkuyu said Wednesday at a press briefing.
Consequently, fuel delivery in the country has been suspended for about 10 days, the minister said.
Kunkuyu, also the Malawian government’s spokesperson, added that 50 million dollars have been secured from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa to help ease the country’s fuel shortage.
The southeastern African country has been experiencing a fuel crisis since Oct. 13, causing motorists to spend hours in queues at gas stations across the country. ■