About 10 service stations in the resort town sell fuel at between $1.28 and $1.32 per litre of diesel while petrol is being sold at between $1.44 and $1.50 per litre.

The illegal fuel dealers in Victoria Falls are charging $7 for five litres of petrol and motorists prefer to buy from the black market.

The illegal dealers procure the commodity from Kasane in Botswana and Livingstone in Zambia where a litre of petrol costs less than one United States dollar.

The Victoria Falls Fuel Dealers Association on Tuesday convened a meeting with stakeholders from the local authority, police, and Environmental Management Agency (EMA) among others to find possible ways of addressing the matter.

The association’s chairperson Obvious Marange said fuel service stations’ business was being crippled by the emergence of fuel dealers on the black market.

“We held a meeting attended by all garage owners to raise our concerns about the increase in the number of people trading in fuel on the black market,” said Marange.

At the meeting, it was resolved that EMA and the Victoria Falls Municipality should use their statutes and by-laws to deal with the fuel dealers on the black market.

“It was agreed that the town council should educate people on the dangers of storing fuel in plastic containers in their houses.

“As fuel operators we’ve been affected by black market fuel dealers’ business because as things stand, it’s like everyone is now running a garage,” said Marange.

A similar stakeholders’ meeting will be held next month to deliberate on possible measures to curb the illicit fuel business in the resort town.

Victoria Falls Municipality spokesperson Ngqabutho Moyo said they would enforce some by-laws if there was need.

“We attended a meeting of fuel dealers where they raised concern about the increasing number of illegal dealers in fuel. On our part we indicated that we would raise awareness through various methods on the dangers of keeping fuel in containers and illegally dealing in it,” he said.

“If we find anyone dealing in it without a licence we’ll be compelled to enforce the Traders Licence Act because as a local authority we only recognise designated trading sites such as garages.”

The black market is spawned by Victoria Falls’ proximity to Botswana and Zambia.

The illegal dealers also buy some of the fuel from truck drivers at Victoria Falls Truck Stop and near the Vehicle Inspectorate Department offices where some of the illegal vending sites are located.

Illegal selling sites have been established in houses in Mkhosana and Chinotimba suburbs while others sell from the bush around town.

Meanwhile, service stations operators in the resort town have implored the government to review some levies which they said were exorbitant hence fuelling black market. by Leornard Ncube source-chronicle