The Parliament of Zimbabwe has denied reports that it is paying double the stipulated price for diesel bought from Redan Petroleum Pvt (Ltd).
This follows a fuel exchange note that went viral on social media platforms, purportedly showing that Parliament was buying fuel at $10,50 per litre.
In a statement on Thursday, the Parliament said that the particular transaction involved an individual MP who wanted to exchange expired fuel coupons. The statement read in part:
The fuel coupon exchange note in question involved a transaction between an individual Member of Parliament who was replacing expired coupons at Redan Pvt (Ltd) and not the institution of Parliament.
The only reason the exchange note reflects the name of the institution is primarily because the coupons are purchased by Parliament as an institution for all Members of Parliament and subsequently issued to individual members.
… Parliament of Zimbabwe engaged Redan over the matter and was advised that the exchange note was generated and issued to the Member of Parliament for the sole reason of enabling him to collect the new coupons.
The member in question was never charged for the transaction. In other words, the coupon exchange note is an internal Redan document whose esoteric figures are understood by Redan staff, but do not reflect the prevailing coupon prices and should thus not be used as a pricing reference point.