A Fuel attendant holding a fuel pump at the filling station along Kimathi Street in Kenya. (Photo: NMG).

Some fuel station owners in Juba said Thursday they have increased the price of petrol and diesel to almost 3000 pounds per a litter due to weakening local currency against the US dollar.

Fuel traders who spoke to Eye Radio said they have hiked the price to 2,995 – an almost 50 percent increase compared to the SSP1,700 at the beginning of March.

Others partially attribute the skyrocketing in the fuel price to increase in taxes.

Eddy Cyrus, the supervisor of Lokita Petrol Station at Juba’s Buluk area, confirmed the rising fuel market price.

“Here, one litre of petrol is 2,995 and diesel is 2,990. The reason is clear, because of the shooting of the rate of hard currency and changes in the market,” he said.

“This is what we set to be the cost of fuel as the fuel stations owners, due to some changes of the commodities.”

Meanwhile, the Director of CBC Petrol station at Gudele 2 suburb also confirmed the fuel price hike.

Joseph Koul is calling the national government to intervene by reducing taxes to salvage the situation.

“The price of petrol here is 2,950 SSP. The price shot up due to the rate of the dollar in the market.”

“Secondly, in Nimule, there was an increase in the tax and these days I think the government wants to withdraw it (tax increment decision). If it happens, the prices will go down like before.”

“Let the government intervene to take away this extra tax and support us through injecting the dollar in the market. The main issue now is the dollar, and let the people stand with the government.”

On March 7, 2024, petrol station owners lowered fuel prices back to 2,000 pounds per a liter for one week following a deal between Somali businessmen and the state-owned oil firm – NilePet.

This follows a meeting of the economic cluster in President Kiir’s cabinet in which it was decided that the government will supply the country with enough fuel and sell it at a subsidized price to citizens in the coming weeks.

The cluster also agreed to import food supplies and sell them to citizens at a subsidized price to improve the deteriorating economic situation and reduce the cost of living for citizens.