ANB-BIA SUPPLEMENT

ISSUE/EDITION Nr 367 - 01/05/1999

CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS



Congo-Brazza

Smugglers - a law unto themselves


by S. L. Kibelolo, Congo-Brazza, March 1999

THEME = SOCIAL CONDIT.

INTRODUCTION

Although Congo-Brazza is an oil producing country,
fuel is increasingly rare to come by. Illegal petrol dealers called «Gaddafis»
try to supply motorists

Before the 1997 civil war, wandering petrol dealers discretely plied their trade. Now, nobody's afraid of the authorities. The «Gaddafis» (a nickname given to the young fuel sellers), offer fuel openly and publicly to everyone. At street corners, some of these entrepreneurs display several 25 litre drums on shelves, together with funnels and a hosepipe; others have a single 5 litre container perched on a stool. But everywhere you see signs: «Petrol for sale here».

It all began in the southern districts of Brazzaville where the police have tried in vain to suppress the «Gaddafis»' trade. Throughout this police action, in the northern districts of the capital, «business as usual» was the order of the day for illegal petrol dealers. «After all, it's a war-driven situation», they declare.

Pump attendants as accomplices

Where does this fuel come from? Usually, from Pointe-Noire, Congo- Brazza's economic capital. But the frequent breaks in the Congo- Ocean railway service because of the war situation in The Pool region, and the inadequate number of storage tanks, means that Brazzaville is often short of fuel. So, the «Gaddafis» take advantage of this situation and import fuel from neighbouring Congo RDC. This traffic is very risky, using dugout canoes for transport.

At the present time, the pump attendants are both the official and the non-official suppliers. How come? In spite of Hydro-Congo's best efforts to supply fuel to almost all the petrol stations still operating after the war, the pump attendants are on the take. After every delivery of fuel, they keep back a few drums for the wandering petrol sellers, at the expense of ordinary drivers.

The pump attendants sell the fuel to the «Gaddafis» at 400 CFA francs a litre. The normal price. But the «Gaddafis» must pay out 1,000 CFA francs as a bribe to their suppliers for every 25 litre drum provided. «It's the risk premium», says a pump attendant.

As soon as the fuel in the petrol stations runs out, the «Gaddafis» appear with their reserves, and dictate terms. A litre of petrol now sells at 700-800 CFA francs or even as high as 1,000 CFA francs depending what they had to pay the pump attendants. Jules is one of these «Gaddafis». He bawls at the drivers: «My petrol is good quality, so I can't haggle over it. If you don't want to buy, there are plenty of other takers. 1000CFA francs a litre. Take it or leave it».

These young «Gaddafis» are greedy for money. Wanting to make an easy buck they often mix petroleum products together. Here's what happened when one «Gaddafi» in a northern district of Brazzaville got caught. He'd sold bad quality diesel to a client. The client, none-too-pleased, tackled the dealer. The «Gaddafi» then admitted that in order to have 100 litres to sell, he'd «mixed» 50 litres of petrol with 50 litres of diesel. Later on, the buyers returned to claim 50,000 CFA francs, equivalent to the purchase price of the bad fuel. «As soon as we started to use this fuel, the engine started to belch smoke», complained Magloire, a bus driver.

Despite the complaints made about them, the «Gaddafis» don't give up. Drivers «in the know» test the fuel first, before buying it. Noel is in the transport business. He says: «When I've been using fuel bought at the roadside, I have to drain my vehicle's engine, otherwise the stuff they sell would quickly put paid to it. If I don't do that, all my buses would soon be off the road»

«Half-journeys»

When the fuel disappears, residents of Brazzaville pay the price. They can be seen walking miles, throughout the capital. Most administrative bodies, companies and other commercial enterprises are located in the city centre, of course. Some mean of transport has to be found to get there. Once fuel becomes scarce, buses start making «half-journeys»: drivers with the collaboration of the bus operators, no longer follow the prescribed routes. Sometimes they increase the ticket price, set at 150 CFA francs by the town hall, to 200 CFA francs. Taxi drivers increase their charges as well: a journey normally costing 700 CFA francs is now 1,000 CFA francs. «I increased my charges to recover the 25,000 CFA francs it cost me to buy a 25 litre drum of fuel, instead of the usual 10,000 CFA francs it would normally cost,» complains a bus operator.

Since public service employees often have to wait for their salaries, they cannot devote all their budget to transport costs. Some are forced to walk to work. One says: «I've walked from Nganga-Lingolo, 17 km south of Brazzaville into the city centre since the "Gaddafi" are running the show.» The situation is spreading. But the «Gaddafis» are now talking about forming themselves into an association to protect their own interests. «After all,» states one, «We're carrying on this trade simply to have some kind of work».

END

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