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of petroleum products.

Secretary for Energy and Power Development Mr Partson Mbiriri said this during the Bio-ethanol blends stakeholders workshop held in Harare last week.

“The development of biofuels is one of the key policy objectives of Government as enunciated in the National Energy Policy released last year and it is expected to bring about import substitution which will reduce foreign currency expenditure on imports of petroleum products,” he said.

Mr Mbiriri added that since Zimbabwe is a land locked country it was costing a lot of money to acquire and transport fuel into the country from Beira. The country needs about 1,5 million litres of petrol and 2,5 million litres of diesel per day.

He called upon all stakeholders to get involved in bio-fuels development in order to address fully complex issues that are involved.

“This workshop is part of the process of stakeholder involvement and public education in order to fully address the complexity of issues that are involved,” added Mr Mbiriri.

In the interim, he added that Government has given some guidelines including a minimum ethanol/petrol blend target of 20 percent by 2015 and a 5 percent bio-diesel blend by 2020.

Emphasis is also on the promotion of outgrower schemes and mini-processing plants for smallholder farmers while undertaking research for improvement of feedstock quality yields as well as processing technologies.

Mr Mbiriri also said his ministry was ready to administer the 5 percent mandatory ethanol blending and what is only left is as per Cabinet decision that they await the Joint Venture Agreement and the resultant licensing of the venture by the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority.

Government is set to partner with Green Fuels to start off the programme but other ethanol producers were also free to come on board provided they partner with Government as well.

“The requisite statutory instrument is already in place having been gazetted early this year and initially blending would take place at the Msasa Oil Terminal and at Feruka and the equipment has already been installed and tested,” he said.

Government, in February gazetted the Petroleum (Mandatory Blending of Anhydrous Ethanol with Unleaded Petrol) Regulations.

According to Statutory Instrument 17 of 2013, E5 will be produced by licensed ethanol blenders and introduced throughout the country.

ZERA, in consultation with the Minister of Energy and Power Development shall set the price of the ethanol and the pricing of the commodity to ensure it falls within the set parameters.

Those that would be found guilty of violating the regulations shall be liable to pay a fine not exceeding level nine and the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (Chapter 9: 07) shall be applicable for any offences committed.