OIL/FUEL RESERVE FACILITY DEBATE HEATS UP IN PARLY

LOBAMBA – He said, she said! This was the picture painted by Nkilongo Member of Parliament (MP) Hans Steffen when he said the Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, Jabulile Mashwama, had confirmed to him that indeed an agreement had been entered into by the Swazi government and Vitol, a fuel storage company originally from Switzerland.

MP Steffen told the House of Assembly yesterday that the minister had called him on Saturday to state that the parties had entered into an agreement concerning the Phuzamoya Oil or Fuel Reserve Facility.

He said he was now confused because just last week Thursday, the acting Attorney General Sifiso Khumalo had informed the House that there was no agreement, or even a drafted one because if there was an existence of such, his office would have knowledge of it because they handled contracts which government entered into.

“However, on Saturday I got a call from the minister saying there is a signed agreement,” said Steffen.
Making his submission, the MP said he was curious about the agreement as he had an investor from the United States of America (USA) who was in the process of dismantling a fuel refinery in that country to set up at Nkilongo, which would bring about 600 jobs.
He said the refinery if set up in Swaziland would produce about 100 million of litres of fuel per month.
MP Steffen told the MPs that Swaziland used around 30 million litres of fuel per month and the excess would be exported so that the country would make revenue.

He said he was, therefore, concerned that Vitol would allegedly be collecting about 55 cents per litre of the fuel that was stored at Phuzamoya, which would make about E200 million per year and since the agreement with government was for 20 years, about E6 billion in total would be taken out of the country.

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