Major South African city scrambles for urgent fuel supply after running dry
The Nelson Mandela Bay metro says it has replenished its fuel stocks after they were depleted earlier in the week, with the city now on high alert amid severe weather warnings.
On Tuesday, 5 May, the metro admitted that fuel supplies had been depleted, bringing large parts of service delivery to a halt.
The issue arose from the failure to renew a key fuel supply contract before its expiry at the end of April.
However, it says it has since urgently moved to find and stabilise its supply, so the city’s emergency services can respond to any issues that may arise from stormy weather in the region.
The looming fuel crisis was first flagged by Democratic Alliance (DA) NMB caucus chief whip Gustav Rautenbach and subsequently confirmed by the municipality itself.
The DA warned that the lapse in the fuel contract could have dire consequences for residents, particularly during extreme weather.
“The lack of petrol and diesel supply means that emergency personnel and disaster management teams may be unable to respond effectively to emergencies,” the DA said.
“In the event of power outages or flooding of streets, no emergency vehicles will be able to respond. The DA is deeply concerned that the most vulnerable residents, particularly those living in flood-prone areas, will be the hardest hit.”
However, on Wednesday, 6 May, the municipality sought to downplay the fuel crisis, saying that supplies had “stabilised”.
It also stressed that its Disaster Management Centre was fully activated and ready to respond to the severe weather conditions affecting the metro.
“The municipality acknowledges that fuel supply constraints were experienced,” it said. “Mitigation measures were implemented with urgency, and the situation has now been fully stabilised.”
The metro said that fuel availability has been restored, and all critical and service delivery operations are fully operational.
“The Municipality takes full accountability for this disruption and confirms that systems have been reinforced to prevent recurrence during ongoing operations.”
The fuel crisis hit at a particularly critical time, with the region facing level 6 and level 8 storm warnings from the South African Weather Service.
The Eastern Cape is among the regions expected to be hardest hit, with disaster response teams placed on high alert.
While multiple flooding incidents have been reported across several wards, the metro said that, at this stage, no fatalities have been reported and no serious injuries recorded.
However, emergency evacuations have been conducted where required.
“Emergency shelters remain on standby, high alert and operational to accommodate any further evacuations should conditions worsen,” it said.
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