The government has instructed all public institutions and state-owned enterprises to put non-essential employees on annual leave in an attempt to mitigate the fuel shortage suffocating transportation across the country.
Fuel, particularly diesel, has all but disappeared at pumping stations in Addis Ababa and elsewhere over the past couple of weeks as the effects of the Iran war’s energy crisis make themselves felt in Ethiopia. Massive queues visible at fuel stations all over the country, sometimes consisting of hundreds of trucks, buses, and ordinary cars, underscore the gravity of the problem.
This week, the government ordered all non-essential public servants and state enterprise employees to take annual leave as a way to ease demand for transportation and fuel.
Public institutions are in the process of deciding which of their employees are essential, while some have already enforced leave for some of their staff. Among the latter is the Ethio Engineering Group.
From The Reporter Magazine
“The critical fuel shortage affecting the country has made conditions difficult for the public bus service. Only key employees should report to their stations, and others should take their annual leave. Employees should use commercial transport services to travel to their offices,” reads an internal notice issued by the Group’s management.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has already had serious global reverberations. The effects are especially pronounced in Asia. The Philippines declared a national emergency over the fuel crisis, Thailand has implemented work-from-home policies and discouraged the use of air conditioners, while Vietnam has announced plans for its national airline to cut down flights.
Earlier this month, the Ethiopian government called on the public to conserve fuel and granted allocation priority to large public projects, which include the construction of a new international airport in Bishoftu, which federal officials say requires more than 15 million liters of fuel per month.
From The Reporter Magazine
US-Israeli attacks in Iran have also pushed oil prices to their highest level since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, with some analysts predicting the cost of a barrel of crude could shoot past the USD 200 mark before June if the conflict continues and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.
The prospect of further price hikes is grim for Ethiopia, where spending on fuel imports was already above USD four billion, or close to 20 percent of the total import bill.
Federal officials have hinted at further measures aimed at curbing fuel consumption.
In the long term, the government is depending on electric vehicles. A document published by the Ministry of Finance and the Ethiopian Investment Commission this week outlines plans to replace the entire public fleet with EVs by 2030. Officials are also keen to see public transport providers adopt compressed natural gas (CNG) in place of diesel.
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