Page 11 - AfrOil Week 31 2022

AfrOil POLICY AfrOil

The case, which stems from a dispute over He urged the government to do all it could to
whether a discovery made by Springfield is part reach a peaceful settlement of the matter.
of Eni and Vitol’s oil fields, doesn’t bode well Meanwhile, a court in Ghana on July 15
for the country and was entirely avoidable, said ordered the government to stop payments to Eni
John Jinapor, ranking member of the Mines and and its Dutch partner Vitol Holding BV, while
Energy Committee, in a statement. the lawsuit continues, according to Energyvoice.
“So the last thing the government should be com.
contemplating is watching their reckless deci- Earlier, the Commercial Division of the
sion to wilfully cause Ghanaians an avoidable Accra High Court ordered the operators of the
judgement debt to a gargantuan tune of $7bn,” Sankofa Oil Fields to reserve 30% of all revenue
Jinapor said generated from operations on the field until a
The dispute with Eni “requires tactful lead- final determination of the related dispute. The
ership, which is unfortunately not forthcoming said 30% will be paid by Eni and Vitol into an
from this government,” he warned. account agreed by all contesting parties. ™

Lack of fuel in Zimbabwe slowing

down roadworks, minister says

ZIMBABWE A severe shortage of fuel sold in local currency A two-decade-old economic crisis and a
has slowed down a Zimbabwe government pro- shortage of foreign development assistance amid
gramme to rehabilitate roads, a cabinet minister Western sanctions have constrained spending
has said. on public infrastructure in the southern African
Felix Mhona, the transport and infrastruc- country. Torrential rains that fell over the Octo-
ture development minister, told parliament that ber 2020-February 2021 wet season worsened
the emergency road rehabilitation programme the state of the roads.
has been going on well since its launch in early At the end of that season, President Emmer-
2021 but the scarcity of fuel has been frustrating son Mnangagwa took an unprecedented deci-
progress lately. sion to declare all roads in the country a state
“These works are being done in-house and of disaster and launched the emergency road
indeed availability of ZWL [Zimbabwe dol- rehabilitation exercise. His government tar-
lar] fuel has slowed down progress,” he said, as geted rehabilitating about 10,000km of roads in
quoted by state-owned daily the Chronicle. rural and urban areas nationwide.
“My ministry has approached government Due to the economic situation and lack of
fuel suppliers CMED [Central Mechanical foreign currency, Zimbabwe has struggled to
Equipment Department] and NOIC [National import petroleum products. Fuel is the only
Oil Infrastructure Company] to assist in this product in the country that can legally be sold in
regard and assurances of supplies have been hard currency. Only government or contractors
given. Works have been slowed down but will working on public projects can buy the product
continue and I assure the House that they will be in local currency, but as Mhona said, even that
completed before the rainy season,” Mhona said. portion is becoming scarce. ™

Zimbabwe launched an emergency road rehab programme last year (Photo: Zimbabwe Ministry of Transport)

Week 30 28•July•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P11