CLAIM: Zimbabweans now require a letter to prove that they are employed before they can buy fuel
VERDICT: False: The energy regulator says no such regulation has been announced or enforced.
A message circulating on social media claims that a report on the state broadcaster ZBC announced that only people who can prove they are employed will be able to buy fuel.
The message, says (unedited): “FUEL ONLY FOR WORKING CLASS IN ZIMBABWE. In a shocking story on zbc news @8 hanzi for someone to get fuel at a service station you hv to produce a letter to prove that ur working and without the proof of that letter you won’t get fuel bcoz hanzi mota dzeMshikashika ndovarikupedza fuel…. hazvisi zvichatowedzera corruption here izvi… is this the solution???”
The message was shared on social media platforms, such as WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook, generating many comments.
This is fake news, according to the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA).
“I have seen this message on social media. I have checked with the industry. There is nothing of this sort. No instructions have been given to the industry to implement this requirement,” Eddington Mazambani, the ZERA acting CEO, told ZimFact.
There was no such report carried by ZBC on its website. There is also no mention of the report on the ZBC’s main news broadcasts of Sunday and Monday, which are available on the ZBC Facebook page. In addition, no other media have carried such a report.
CONCLUSION
A social media post claiming that you can now only buy fuel after producing a letter to prove that you are employed is false. The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority says it has not given any such instruction, and that nobody in the industry is implementing it. No such report was carried by either ZBC or by any other media outlets.
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