Nicolas Kazadi: “With the current price increase, oil subsidies could reach 400 million USD this year”
The repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis are hitting the Hydrocarbons sector hard in the world.
Insofar as the Democratic Republic of Congo exports all of its oil, it goes without saying that the fixing of the price per liter at the pump depends on the evolution of the Average Commercial Border Price (PMFC).
Thus, the Congolese State has always intervened by means of subsidies to ensure a price structure for petroleum products that preserves the purchasing power of consumers to any extent.
In front of the national deputies gathered in plenary at the National Assembly, the Minister of Finance recently expressed his concerns about what he described as a “big debt linked to the subsidy of petroleum products”.
“ As recently as ten days ago, I had to deal with a claim for USD 117 million for loss of oil tankers for the second quarter of last year (2021). After intense discussions with the oil industry and a downward revision of certain figures, we paid 56 million USD.” , did he declare.
According to the National Argentier, several other requests for payment of oil subsidies are on his table, in particular for the second half of 2021, the certification of which has not yet been made, and then for the current year.
While the 2022 Finance Law sets the credit due to the oil subsidy at USD 80 million, the Minister of Finance, Nicolas Kazadi, fears that the budget ceiling will be exceeded during the 2022 financial year following the rise in the price of petroleum products in the international market.
“With the ongoing price hike, by making simple projections, we believe that we could arrive at 400 million USD in subsidies if we want to maintain the price at the pump at its current level. »
For the time being, the Government of the DRC and the tankers agree to maintain the current fuel prices unchanged despite the disruptions caused by the conflict in Ukraine. Leave it to the Government to better manage the payment of the increasingly colossal shortfall of oil companies.
