Yaounde: Many resort to charcoal usage following petrol scarcity

The increasing scarcity in Petrol supply in Yaounde, capital city of Cameroon has left many residents of this town frustrated.

For some time now, the city of Yaoundé has been experiencing a shortage of Petrol which is said to have handicapped city dwellers.

“For 3 days, I have been coming here in the hope of finding petrol, which I use to light my stove, but so far nothing. And when I come home late, it’s hard to light the charcoal. I hope that the return to normal is coming soon,” explained Alexandra Tsinda.

At the filling station where we met Tsinda, no reason has so far been given regarding the issue. “We’ve been without oil for two weeks and it’s pretty much everywhere like that. We placed the order and the only response was that the oil is not available,” said a gas station attendant.

At the Ministry of Water and Energy, we learned that the product is available. However, the exits were obstructed, because certain pumps of the Cameroon Company of Petroleum Depots (SCDP) were out of order. A problem that they say has just been solved and therefore the return to normal is coming soon.

This oil shortage comes on top of a ton of shortages experienced by the city of Yaoundé in recent months. In particular that of super fuel in November and that of diesel and home gas a few months earlier.

By Amina Hilda