The government has agreed to impose harsher penalties for the illegal sale of petroleum products to combat ongoing fuel shortages in the country, Petroleum Ministry sources have said.
The sources said representatives from the Interior, Supply and Social Affairs, and Petroleum ministries as well as the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces agreed with the attorney general on the penalties.
The cabinet intends to propose a bill to the People’s Assembly on the issue this week.
Amr Mostafa, vice president of the General Petroleum Authority for Operations, said the bill would help curb the illegal sale of fuel, which generates huge profits for smugglers.
Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim earlier told Al-Masry Al-Youm that his ministry has started to send police to petrol stations to watch over vehicles loaded with gasoline and diesel fuel to combat fuel shortages.
The minister said authorities seized 3.5 tons of diesel fuel being smuggled from Qena Governorate via the Red Sea.
Ibrahim said the Interior Ministry is working with the supply and petroleum ministries as well as the governorates to control the smuggling of petroleum products, which the government has blamed for ongoing fuel shortages.
Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri had earlier said that the government has paid US$3 billion over the past nine months to import diesel fuel and butane gas cylinders, which has negatively affected its reserves of the dollar.
Several authorities said the weeks-long fuel crisis in the country has eased after security services had seized thousands of smuggled tons of gasoline and diesel fuel.
Crowds and fighting at gas stations have left some people injured. Fuel shortages also affect bread production — a critical issue for citizens.
The Islamist-dominated Parliament has blamed Ganzouri’s cabinet for failing to respond to the crisis, saying that such a failure is a reason to remove the cabinet.
On Saturday, state-run news agency MENA quoted a high-level military official as saying that Egypt is considering seeking help from Arab countries.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
