The fire at the Lembe refinery in Cameroon on June 1 is being felt, as is the lack of rain which has not yet allowed refueling by river, according to the Ministry of Energy. Consequence: gasoline becomes scarce in service stations. And street vendors are already invading the streets.

In this gas station, Clem is sitting on his motorbike. This motorcycle taxi has been waiting for hours, in vain: “There is no fuel. I don't know how I can do it”.

At the pump there is only diesel. So some go to the dealers who camp a few meters from the station with their bottles and cans filled with the precious liquid.

This is the case of Moïse, who deplores the lack of gasoline in the station itself. Especially since at the resellers, “it's more expensive. 1,200 francs, we really regret!”. 400 francs more expensive on average on the black market, therefore. So he asks himself: “What is happening in this country? How is the station there and we buy gasoline along the way like that. It doesn't do well. It disturbs a lot”.

Three to four weeks supply

Serge, who has also come to refuel his scooter, questions the management of stocks: “We cannot today give pretexts that there was a fire in Cameroon, at the level of the refineries... We should at least in terms of forecasting have a reserve large enough to cover in the event of a crisis. But we have found that there is none”.

The Minister of Energy assures that the country has three to four weeks of reserves and that measures have been taken to supply Bangui as quickly as possible.