CHENGETAI ZVAUYA
Government has restored Glow Petroleum’s fuel licence after the company proved that they were operating smoothly, within the confines of the law and was not overcharging motorists for fuel.
Last week, Government withdrew Glow’s operating licence saying that three of its service stations had overcharged motorists during the fuel crisis that gripped the country last month.
Energy and Power Development minister Joram Gumbo told Business Times this week that the licence had been restored. He however added that the decision to withdraw the licence had not been politically motivated.
“The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) had withdrawn the licence as some of Glow’s Service Stations were overcharging for fuel.
They have however since corrected this by reducing their prices. As a result, the operating licence is still valid. I have been informed by Zera that the company has regularised its fuel prices,” Gumbo said.
Glow Petroleum managing director Aron Chinhara said that his company was operating smoothly and that the licence was still valid. “We have our licence… you can visit any Glow Petroleum Service station and see that our business is still running smoothly,” he said.
“We are open for discussion with government. There are communication structures that need to be followed when withdrawing a licence. However what I can tell you is that we have done nothing wrong as a company.
He said there had not been a government directive issued to effect the withdrawal of the licence. “There is no government directive stopping us from operating and we have not received any communication from them that we should not operate.’’
Chinhara is a former top MDC official in the Midlands province.
