It has been two years now since the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) led-government came to power, yet there has been no official regulation on prices for goods and services.
Since last week, on January 20, Liberians across the country have experience either a shortage of gasoline or a high price tag in obtaining it. The price rose from $680 LRD to $1,000 LRD, while some gas stations sold for $1,200 LRD. This drastic increase are forcing taxi drivers, along with commercial motorcyclist, and keh-keh drivers to double their fairs just to meet up with the cost of gasoline while also providing for their families.
TOTAL filling stations are the only vendors currently selling gas for $605 LRD as some gas stations closed to the public while others have doubled the price per gallon. As the result, various TOTAL filling stations are overwhelmed with vehicles including keh-keh, and motorbikes in need of gasoline.
Reasons for the sudden shortage of gasoline is very much unclear, but it seems like dealers of petroleum products are intentionally increasing the sales of distribution due to the government’s intent to increase tariff.
Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) on Tuesday, January 21, stated that there is a sufficient quantity of fuel supply in the country to meet up domestic needs, yet citizens are still concern about the high price in obtaining gasoline.
The LPRC urged the public to report importers, distributors or retailers selling petroleum products above the approved pump price of $3.80 USD and $3.21 USD for diesel and gasoline, respectively, or the equivalent in Liberian dollars using the exchange rate of Liberia’s Central Bank. LPRC claims that perpetrators will be dealt with according to the law.
The shortage of gasoline has also led to memes on social media. People are saying that standing in cues to purchase gas reminds them of the days people used to stand in line to get water from wells.
