UNBS to crackdown sale of fuel in plastic bottles

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda National Bureau of Standards – UNBS has started a crackdown on the sale of fuel in plastic bottles.

It is a common practice along highways and streets in major trading centres and towns of Northern Uganda for people to sell diesel and petrol packaged in plastic containers to motorists in total violation of safety precautions.

Vendors sell the fuel ranging from half a litre to 1.5 litres of fuel at 2,500 to 6,400 Shillings.

Alex Ochora, a fuel vendor at Lamogi trading centre in Amuru district says while it is a petty business, they always suffer with poor storage resulting in excessive heat. He says that petrol is highly flammable which is risky to have being sold in open and public places.

Richard Bongomin, a fuel consumer in Gulu notes that the fuel sold in plastic containers is sometimes adulterated and affects the engines of vehicles. He criticized UNBS for weak enforcement against dubious fuel.

Ronald Otim, a petrol station owner in Gulu says fuel vending is very common in many urban centres amid ignorance of the law to regulate it. He called for adequate awareness creation before stringent measures are implemented.

Emmanuel Ocan, the Nwoya district LC V chairperson argues that the growing roadside fuel vending is encouraging siphoning of fuel from long-distance trucks which puts the lives of people and property at risk to fire outbreaks.

The Assistant Commissioner Petroleum Supply, Ministry of Energy, John Friday says that UNBS and the Ministry are conducting nationwide sensitization of local leaders, security officers and petrol station owners saying it will eliminate unlawful industrial practices under the fuel marking quality and monitoring programme.

The programme is implemented under a cooperative arrangement between UNBS and the Energy Ministry to control and monitor the quality of petroleum products.

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