Malawi launches black market fuel crackdown as prices soar

The southern African nation is struggling with fuel shortages that have left truckers queuing for up to a week and bus fares doubling on some routes. Malawi launched a nationwide crackdown on fuel hoarders and black market sellers as the nation struggles with shortages that have left truckers queuing for up to a week and bus fares doubling on some routes. Diesel and petrol have been scarce for weeks because the country lacks the hard currency to buy fuel supplies, sparking a scramble for dollars that has seen the central bank sell off gold to pay suppliers and the government return to the IMF for a bailout. Malawi, which has among the highest fuel pump prices in Africa at more than $3 a liter, highlights the impact of a $100-plus per barrel crude price on import-dependent economies with thin buffers. Unlicensed resellers face arrest, and stations caught hoarding can lose their license under the new measures. The IMF last week said it was making “ considerable progress ” in designing a “package of macroeconomic policies.” Its last program was a $175 million loan that expired in May last year, the latest in a string of support packages for one of the continent’s poorest countries, wh