Zimbabwe Bans Sale of Unleaded Petrol
In a significant policy shift, the Zimbabwean government has announced a ban on the sale of unleaded petrol and enforced a new regulation that mandates the blending of the fuel with ethanol.
This measure, which will take effect next week, marks a critical step in the country’s energy strategy aimed at promoting the use of biofuels.
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The ban was formalized in the latest amendment to the Petroleum (Mandatory Blending of Anhydrous Ethanol with Unleaded Petrol) Regulations, 2024 (No.6).
In the amendment, the Minister of Energy and Power Development, following consultations with the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA), exercised the powers granted under section 57(1) of the Petroleum Act [Chapter 13:22] to enact these changes.
Zimbabwe Bans Sale of Unleaded Petrol
According to the amendment, Section 3 of the Petroleum (Mandatory Blending of Anhydrous Ethanol with Unleaded Petrol) Regulations, 2013, published in Statutory Instrument 17 of 2013, has been repealed and replaced with the following provisions:
“These regulations shall apply to all unleaded petrol imported into Zimbabwe. Subsection (1) shall come into operation seven days from the date of publication of these regulations.”
This effectively means that all unleaded petrol entering the country must now be blended with anhydrous ethanol before being sold to the public.
The implementation of this new regulation is set to begin next week, giving fuel suppliers and retailers a short window to comply with the new requirements.
The blending of ethanol with unleaded petrol is expected to reduce the country’s reliance on imported fossil fuels and promote the use of renewable energy sources.
