PAPUA NEW GUINEA (RNZ Pacific/Pacnews) — Motorists, airline travelers, and businesses are all being affected by intermittent fuel shortages in Papua New Guinea
The shortages are down to major fuel importer, Puma Energy, struggling to access enough foreign exchange.
Since the beginning of the year, there have been occasional shortages of fuel.
An order last week from the country's police chief and pandemic controller, David Manning, that the Bank of PNG and Puma Energy sort out their issues seems to have come to nothing.
The fuel supply crisis has forced the PNG government to declare a month-long national emergency. The country's main domestic airlines were also forced to halt operations and cancels dozens of flights.
Energy Minister Kerengua Kua told ABC the PNG government would be investigating allegations the central bank has raised against Puma Energy.
RNZ Pacific PNG correspondent Scott Waide said airlines were particularly badly affected in the country.
Waide said when Puma Energy makes an announcement that it would be rationing fuel, the national carrier, Air Niugini, follows with announcements that it is cancelling flights.
"Because there is a restriction from Puma Energy so it puts hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people at a disadvantage because they are just about to travel," Waide said.
"They have woken up in the morning, they are looking to travel that day and then the notice comes out."
He said in the capital, Port Moresby, there were frequently long queues at petrol stations, which can take up to two hours to clear - sometimes with the business announcing they have run out of fuel.
Waide said it may take until some of the new mines planned for the country come into operation, generating income, that the Bank of PNG will be willing to release more foreign exchange.
