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Locadia Mavhudzi Midlands Correspondent
Motorists in the Midlands Province have applauded Government for the continuous supply of fuel over the Independence and Easter holidays,a situation which enabled smooth flow for Easter gatherings.

A snap survey carried out by this publication these past six days reflected that most fuel stations in towns such as Gweru, Kwekwe, Shurugwi and Zvishavane had both diesel and petrol.  While some service stations had short queues, those in Shurugwi had no queues as motorists where driving in and out to fuel their vehicles.

The service stations were no longer limiting the commodity as has been the norm. Motorists also travelling to Bulawayo for the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) which kicks off today were also getting as much quantities as they wanted.

“We are grateful that Government was true to its promise that there will be enough fuel supplies. We are travelling with a group of congregants to Shurugwi and fuel is not a challenge as we had anticipated,” said a driver of a hired bus. Other people expressed satisfaction on the fuel supplies considering the centrality of Gweru for people travelling to Bulawayo for the ZITF. “As business, the current fuel supplies are handy for the huge number of travellers going to Bulawayo for ZITF. The majority of travellers would want to top up their fuel and that has been made possible.” said Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) past president Mr Michael Phiri.

He said fuel supply is a critical enabler in the ease of doing business.

“Foreign exhibitors can get to appreciate destination zimbabwe if they experience a smooth travel from the capital all the way to Bulawayo,” he said.

Meanwhile, the hospitality industry recorded low business during the Easter break and attributed the situation to low disposable income for the locals. “It is normally not our peak period for the hospitality sector. However, our bookings went as low as 40 percent. We also feel more can be done in terms of packaging the Easter holidays on our part, “ said Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe Gweru chapter secretary Mr Thomas Nyirenda.