The Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) is this morning holding a briefing in Blantyre on the current fuel situation in the country.

Mera CEO Henry Kachaje says as a regulator they have a mandate to put in place measures to help allocate fuel, especially in a situation like the one we are in as a country, when the commodity is scarce.

This he says is necessary to curb illegal selling of fuel and hoarding.

“There are people who are now buying fuel in jerrycans at the normal prices only to re-sell the same at exorbitant prices,”said Kachaje.

The Mera CEO has since warned service stations against selling fuel to people in jerrycans without a licence obtained from the authority.

Kachaje has also said all service stations are required to sell fuel until either all the vehicles have been filled or when the fuel has run out. This means no station is allowed to close until either of the two conditions are satisfied.

According to Mera, selling of fuel in jerrycans and hoarding of fuel by some stations are some of the things that are making the work to stabilise supply of fuel in the country difficult.