Daniel shares doubts about cause of LPG shortage and says drop in fuel prices was a political move, not a WIOC decision
“A double whammy” is what statistician Dr. George Daniel is calling the recent shortage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and, most recently, of petrol.
On Monday, December 19, a day after a shipment of LPG – or cooking gas – was landed, word circulated that some service stations had run out of gasoline.
This sent motorists flocking to stations across the island to fill up their tanks, and it prompted the West Indies Oil Company Ltd. (WIOC) to reassure residents that there is an adequate supply of gasoline on the market.
WIOC reported that a ship had docked with fresh supplies and said the market would be fully stocked with the product by Tuesday morning. Assurances were also given that adequate supplies of diesel would also be available.
According to WIOC, arrival of the vessel carrying the LPG had been expected on Saturday, December 17; but it had been delayed over the weekend.
However, Dr. Daniel believes that something is not quite right about the fuel-shortage debacle.
He also believes that the announcement of the price reduction on fuel, which came into effect on Monday, December 19, was made to give the Antigua Labour Party a political advantage.
However, according to Dr. Daniel, it backfired, since a number of service stations ran low on gasoline.
He points out that the decision did not come from WIOC – as would be the norm in notifying the Government that the old stock of fuel was nearing completion – but from the Browne Administration.
Meanwhile, the statistician says the Labour Party Government continues to show its incompetence in managing the affairs of the country.
He notes that money is found for the most frivolous things, while back pay and other matters impacting the people are being neglected.