Our old diesel Landcruiser is ill and needs an overhaul, which we may or may not be able to have done here. If that’s not an option, we may send the engine down the river to Kinshasa in a crate to be operated on there but we don’t know how long that will take and whether it will come back in one piece. This is not priority-one on the desk of a microfinance manager but I’m gathering information to decide what to do with this logistical problem.
We needed a second car for our program anyway and we found a small SUV that is serving us well, I wrote about it here a little while ago. Well now the fuel boat from Kinshasa is late leaving the docks and we’ve got a gasoline crisis. They are selling 10 liters (about four gallons) at a time, except to their corrupt connections where the gas is being stockpiled for profiteering later on in the crisis. There’s a huge line at the station and this is just the beginning of the crisis.
We only have a couple of gas stations and much of the gas in town is sold by resellers. They keep gasoline in barrels or (mostly) small bottles on shelves at the roadside. They’re fairly notorious for stretching their merchandise with other liquids to increase profits. A crisis like this is a boon for some of them who are well connected and can get supply to sell at double or more their cost. The crisis of course also encourages even more secret blends that will make your motor cough, wheeze and seize. I’m going tomorrow (Saturday) at 7:30 AM to try to get 10 liters. I’ll take a book and be ready for some craziness.
Ironically, diesel is in good supply.
hi brian, nice blog. did you know you were quoted in global voices?