Severe gasoline shortage hits Sudanese capital amid continued power and water outages
June 7, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese capital has witnessed a sharp shortage in gasoline supply during the last four days as dozens of vehicles queued for fuel in gas stations while power and water cuts continued at several neighbourhoods.
The pro-government al-Rai al-Aam Tuesday newspaper has quoted official sources as saying that the shortage was caused by the change in the timing of gasoline quota distribution, pointing the authorities preferred to distribute the quotas at night in order to avoid the rising temperatures during the day.
On the other hand, several gas stations’ workers told al-Youm al-Tali newspaper that traffic congestion ahead of the holy month of Ramadan caused delay in the arrival of fuel trucks coming from Khartoum oil refinery.
Al-Saiha newspaper, for its part, said the gasoline shortage has entered its fourth day causing severe public transportation crisis.
Sudan’s economy was hit hard since the southern part of the country declared independence in July 2011, taking with it about 75% of the country’s oil output.
Meanwhile, the power outages has continued in various parts of Khartoum despite the pledges made by the Minister of Electricity and Water Resources Muataz Musa and President Omer al-Bashir that the scheduled power cuts which remained in place for two months would end by early June.
The neighbourhoods of Khartoum and other cities have been witnessing regular electricity outages that start from early morning and stretch well into the afternoon.
In December 2014, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said that Sudan will face a problem in electricity production in the future if it does not develop alternative projects due to decreased rainfall and increased consumption.
According to the UN, 35% of Sudan’s population has access to electricity while more than 25 million people are not yet been connected to the national electricity grid.
Also, large parts of Khartoum have witnessed severe water cuts since last Sunday despite the promises made by the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Khartoum Water Authority that the summer season wouldn’t witness any water cuts.
Several legislators have slammed the ministry and the water authority and accused them of failing to honour their promises.
(ST)