Marape apologises for fuel crisis, unveils K190m subsidy package

Prime Minister James Marape has issued a public apology for the inconsistent fuel supply plaguing the country, attributing the recent weekend panic to administrative bottlenecks within the government system.

Speaking this afternoon, Marape revealed that a K190 million government intervention package has been deployed to subsidise fuel costs from May through to mid-June, with further reviews scheduled later in the year.

He admitted that delays in government payments to fuel suppliers had triggered supply anxieties over the weekend, but assured the public that budgetary adjustments have since been made to secure fuel imports for domestic consumption.

"The retailers are supplying fuel based on pricing from March or April," Marape said. "We made this announcement a month earlier that we will subsidise the cost of fuel. We are willing to sacrifice elsewhere in the budget, especially the non-essential elements, to make this happen."

The Prime Minister said the state is absorbing a portion of the import costs borne by suppliers to cushion citizens against global economic pressures.

"Inflation has risen all over the world. We have made this fuel price support to assist by having the government fill in the cost of import that our importers are paying," he said. "We are willing to make sacrifices to ensure we support the economy and keep the cost of fuel affordable."

The current K190 million funding envelope will carry the country into June. Following this, the government plans to review pricing and subsidy requirements in phases: first from June to September, and subsequently from September to December.

Marape announced that the executive is seriously exploring downstream processing in a bid to secure long-term energy security and prevent future supply shocks. Moving forward, the government aims to domesticate and retain five per cent of the gas from upcoming Liquefied Natural Gas [LNG] projects to refine and manufacture fuel locally.