Parliament okays removal of fuel subsidy

[Elisabeth Janaina]

Parliament okays removal of fuel subsidy

Memoscar Lasuba | February 10, 2017 | 11:30 am

The Minister of Finance says the national legislature has given the state company, Nilepet, a permission to remove fuel subsidy.

Stephen Dhieu says MPs Okayed the move in response to his request during the presentation of annual budget for this year.A litter of fuel currently costs 22 pounds at the refilling stations.  If Nilepet removes the subsidy, the price of a litter will rise sharply, according to economists.Mr Dhieu says removing the subsidy is one of the ways the government could save money.

However, some government officials have said that subsidization of fuel has led to malpractices within the state oil firm. Some senior officials have reportedly been thrown in.

Recently, the First Vice President, Taban Deng, said he discovered that there was corruption related to fuel in his office.He said he had no information about a fuel supply, when he was told his office received 10 fuel trucks.A team that he set up to probe the allegation is yet to submit its findings.