For more than a week around the Varreux terminal, in Cité Soleil, several fuel tankers have been intercepted and hijacked by heavily armed men, deplores Marc Antoine Nési, spokesperson for the National Association of Service Station Owners (ANAPROSS). In the week of October 4-9, 2021 alone, at least 5 tankers of petroleum products were hijacked by gangs who found a very lucrative new market there.

This situation of insecurity tends to further complicate the scarcity of fuel at the pumps for the consumer, the private sector facing increasing risks is increasingly reluctant to want to distribute fuel to service stations.

Marc Antoine Nési, warns that the owners of gas stations could soon suspend their activities if nothing is done to put the armed bandits out of harm's way, in order to guarantee a minimum of security.

In some cases the fuel is sold on the black market at gang-controlled sites, in other cases the gangs negotiate a ransom to return the fuel, the truck and its driver.

"[...] It’s a challenge to get to the terminal to supply the distribution network. [...] Everyone in the area, transporter or gas station owner who has their own truck is at a standstill," said Marc André Dériphonse responsible for ANAPROSS and transporter of petroleum products "This is the situation as we speak."

For his part David Turnier, the President of the National Association of Petroleum Product Distributors (ANADIPP) affirms that its members are experiencing the same situation vis-à-vis bandits who hijack trucks. "The situation is catastrophic. We lose almost 50% of our volume at the pump [...]"

Between the gangs, the insufficient efforts of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34051-haiti-news-zapping.html to end gang activities and supply the fuel purchased by the State in insufficient quantities, the ordeal of motorists does not seem to be over anytime soon and consumers will have to continue paying more and more for their transport and that of consumer products if the Government does nothing very quickly...

TB/ HaitiLibre