High oil prices are straining fuel budgets and supply across Central Africa. Gabon’s council of ministers said on 8 October that keeping pump prices stable cost 30 billion CFA francs (about $51 million) in September, twice the peak during the Ukraine war, and President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema ordered a review of the subsidy. In the Central African Republic, ten union confederations demanded wage rises or a reversal of the 1 October increase that took diesel from 1,250 to 1,400 CFA francs a litre, while Burundi cut weekly petrol rations for private vehicles from 30 to 20 litres. Governments are caught between rising subsidy bills and unrest over higher pump prices.
Sources
- Gabonreview: https://www.gabonreview.com/carburants-a-30-milliards-par-mois-letat-veut-revoir-la-facture-des-prix-stabilises/
- Gabonreview: https://www.gabonreview.com/carburants-sante-contrats-economiques-les-urgences-du-conseil-des-ministres/
- Radio Ndeke Luka: https://www.radiondekeluka.org/106878-centrafrique-les-syndicats-exigent-une-hausse-des-salaires-ou-lannulation-de-la-hausse-des-carburants
- Radio Ndeke Luka: https://www.radiondekeluka.org/106438-centrafrique-le-gouvernement-augmente-le-prix-du-carburant
- RFI via allAfrica: https://fr.allafrica.com/stories/202610080494.html
- Iwacu: https://www.iwacu-burundi.org/region-centre-gitega-pour-20-l-dessence-des-vies-sont-sacrifiees/