The prices of petroleum products in Mozambique will now be reviewed monthly and their sale price to the public should be adjusted and communicated to distributors on Thursdays of the third week of the month, in obedience to Decree 89/2019 of 18 November.
Thus, any change in the price of fuel in the international market shall be reflected in the domestic market, when so justified and in different proportions.
“From the last adjustment we are going to comply strictly with what is laid out in this device,” said the National Director of Hydrocarbons and Fuels, Moisés Paulino, quoted by daily newspaper Domingo.
The government’s measure aims to resolve the government’s debt to the gas stations estimated at over US$450 million, although the government itself only recognises about US$300 million in debt, according to the newspaper. Moisés Paulino said, however, that the dialogue between the Government and the petrol companies has made it possible to manage the situation.
“We did the review this May and, if we continue to make the monthly adjustments, the gas stations will have their debt settled month by month,” he explained, anticipating settlement of half the amount by the end of the year. “There is no need to resort to the State Budget to eliminate the debt. The fixing structure itself allows that to happen.”
A difference of 0.75 metical cents per litre of fuel on the domestic market is expected to be maintained if prices fall on the international market, to allow the debt to be settled.
The Government will strive to settle the other half of the debt next year, with the condition of adjusting, on a monthly basis, fuel prices, based on Article 75, Decree 89/2019, which obliges it to announce the new prices on the third Thursday of each month.
Domingo
