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Chief Justice Chidyausiku

Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Court Reporter
The Constitutional Court has no jurisdiction to determine issues pertaining to the blending of fuel because that decision must be made by the Executive, the Constitutional Court heard yesterday.

This was said by GreenFuel lawyer Advocate Adrian De Bourbon yesterday while addressing the court in a case in which a Harare man, Mr Tabani Mpofu, is contesting the constitutionality of mandatory petrol blending to levels beyond E10.

Adv De Bourbon said the courts should leave issues to do with the blending ratios to the Executive and that the court should not be called upon to make such Executive decisions.

He urged the court to dismiss the blending challenge on the basis that it was not properly before the court.

The court heard that Mr Mpofu did not establish any breach of the fundamental rights as enshrined in the Bill of Rights and that his application was wrongly before the court.

Appearing for the applicant, Mr Tendai Biti argued that the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority does not have powers to regulate ethanol, which is an agricultural product.

He said the Petroleum Act could not be used to regulate ethanol, hence the regulations for the blending of fuel with ethanol were not in sync with the parent Act.

Mr Biti said motorists were denied the right to choose the fuel type they want through the Statutory Instruments on mandatory blending.

On behalf of zera, Mr Raphael Tsivama said there was no breach of the Constitution and that the regulations were not divorced from the Petroleum Act.

He said petrol remained a petroleum product despite the fact that it would have been mixed with ethanol and that there was no discrimination as all people were subjected to the same regulations of mandatory blending.

Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, sitting with eight other judges, reserved judgement after hearing the arguments.

In the application, Mr Mpofu cited, zera, Energy and Power Development Minister Dzikamai Mavhaire and GreenFuel as respondents.

Government introduced mandatory blending ratios of E15 on November 30 last year and wanted the ratios increased to E20 by March this year.

But Mr Mpofu took zera, Minister Mavhaire and Green Fuel to court over the issue. He filed the application at the Constitutional Court last December challenging Green Fuel’s monopoly and blending ratios. Mr Mpofu argued that the monopoly and blending ratios did not guarantee fair competition and were not in the interest of motorists.

The blending started with five percent ethanol and 95 percent unleaded petrol on August 15, following the issuance of an ethanol production (mandatory blending) licence to Green Fuel on August 5.