Haiti - FLASH : Towards total paralysis of the country's oil sector
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé dated May 12, the Association of Petroleum and Energy Professionals (APPE) warned the government of the risk of paralysis in this key economic sector and called on the Head of Government to take measures to address the insecurity.
"For several years, gangs have controlled all the roads connecting Port-au-Prince to provincial towns. This prevents the free movement of people and goods, including petroleum products. Transporters and their drivers are subjected to daily pressure and direct threats that endanger their lives, as well as the petroleum products and the trucks in which they are transported, the APPE deplores [...]" stating, "The current situation has reached a critical point," calling for rapid intervention by the authorities.
Road tolls are multiplying and exploding. To exit the Varreux Terminal, the payment to the gangs has increased from 25,000 to 50,000 gourdes per truck.
Due to the proliferation of toll booths, a fuel carrier can pay up to 600,000 gourdes to get to Cap-Haïtien and up to 700,000 gourdes to Hinche, where they must pass through at least six ransom toll booths.
The impact of these additional costs is already being felt in pump prices, where a gallon of gasoline is already at 700 gourdes, with a rising trend toward 800 or even 900 gourdes, far from the regulated price of 560 gourdes.
