Petrol scarcity has resurfaced in some parts Freetown on Monday evening and Tuesday morning, creating long queues of vehicles scrambling for the products at filling stations in several locations.

Eyewitnesses including commercial riders and private vehicle owners told Sierraloaded that some fuel stations are claiming that they do not have fuel to dispense to its customers.

At the Central Business District, both National Petroleum (NP) and Leonco are not selling as at the time of filing in this report. A staff of National Petroleum (NP) who spoke to Sierraloaded confirmed that there is “no fuel available”

Sierraloaded understands that situation has led to a hike in transport fares in Freetown with many commercial buses drivers and tricycle operators increasing their fares, leaving passengers at their mercy.

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The fuel scarcity and long queues at filling stations has also forced many commercial bus drivers out of the road as they were unable to get fuel to power their engines, leading to passengers spending long hours on the road in search of vehicles.

There are fears that the government of Sierra Leone is planning to increase the prices of petroleum products again.

This comes just about one month after the Petroleum Regulatory Agency (PRA) increased the prices of petroleum products in the country from Le18 to Le20.

“Since this morning, I have been struggling to buy fuel. All this scarcity issue is because they want to increase the price of petrol”, Musa Kamara, a Keke rider bemoaned.

With the constant hike in prices of fuel, there will be a massive rise in prices of other key commodities as well, and this can add to current economic challenges in the country.

Meanwhile, Petroleum Regulation Agency (PRA) has not yet released a statement regarding the shortage of fuel in the country.