Why is there no petrol in Nairobi?

I experienced first hand the fuel shortage in Nairobi today. I was forced to work from home with an empty fuel tank. I heard via the grapevine that the Shell down the road had received fuel around lunch time and like many Nairobians joined the queues to get a full tank!

I queued for just under an hour for a full tank of fuel and a Jerry can - as a buffer for any further shortages.

So the BIG question is why is there a fuel shortage in Nairobi?

The government assures us that there is no shortage of petrol in Kenya, In fact according to Patrick Nyoike, Energy Permanent Secretary, there are approximately 17.3 million liters of fuel products at the Kenya Pipeline Company depots.

So the petrol is in the tanks, but not in the fuel stations. Finding an answer to this question is where the blame-storming begins. Here are some of the popular ideas/reasons/excuses:

There's no space to land it:
"the result of intense pricing battles over consignments that were to be shipped in mid March, but could not land at the port for lack of storage space"

It's corruption again: 
"dealers have refused to buy the petroleum because the importer, with the help of the Ministry of Energy officials, has pushed the prices up by up to $10 above the price quoted for the tender"

No money for guarantees:
"Some of these importers are very small and find it difficult to raise the guarantees"

They forgot to pay their accounts:
"the shortage is linked to delayed payments by the marketers"

Blame the logistics department:
"logistical delays resulting from the public holiday for the supply shortage"

It's KRA's fault*:
"the taxation and clearing paperwork required was not done on time"

It's KPLC's fault**:
 "A shutdown at the refinery caused by a power failure late last week has also been linked to the supply shortage"

It's the price's fault:
"the price regulation [is the cause] for the crisis"

It's on it's way, it's stuck on the high seas:
"attempts to ease the situation by getting approval from authorities for the discharge of a cargo ship in the high seas has not borne fruit"

It's the public's fault:
"said the situation was being made worse by panicking motorists who dash to the nearest stations where they see a re-filling truck"

Of possible excuses the only ones missing are: The dog ate it, and the aliens abducted it!

Let's hope that while the industry players are arguing and blame-shifting that someone is actually working to resolve the problem!

* KRA = Kenya Revenue Authority

** KPLC = Kenya Power and Lighting Corporation

Sources:

Capital FM

Business Daily