Illegal fuel dealers advised
Chinsali, February 28, ZANIS —-A Civic leader has warned illegal fuel dealers in Chinsali district of Muchinga Province to desist from stocking up fuel in containers and unauthorized premises.
Chinsali Deputy Mayor Shame Kapyanga sounded the warning in an interview with Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) in Chinsali today.
Mr Kapyanga said illegal fuel dealers that store fuel in houses and business houses risked their lives and that of their family members.
He said a lot of people have lost lives, properties while others have been crippled as a result of accidents caused by illegal fuel storage.
Mr Kapyanga said due to the absence of a filling station, a lot of people in the district are engaged in this type of business in order to make ends meet.
The Deputy Mayor further added that fuel stored in containers is not hundred percent safe adding that even the safety of the consumers is also at risk.
Mr Kapyanga said illegal fuel dealers should draw lessons from Evans Musonda who is still bedridden after he was involved in a fire accident when the fuel he had stored in the house went up in flames.
On July 30, 2007 Musonda and his wife of Choshi village in Chinsali district escaped with serious body injuries after their house which stoked 210 liters of diesel stored in drums caught fire.
Mr Kapyanga has since appealed to fuel dealers to stop selling petrol and diesel in markets and residential areas in order to safe guard lives of people.