Life is never dull here. There always seems to be something going on that makes life interesting. The last few weeks are no exception.
In a developing country such as Chad one might expect to encounter shortages of various things like fuel and electricity. For example, right now we are about 2 weeks into a diesel shortage and over a month into a propane shortage. Ordinarily you'd think that problems related to amenities such as those would probably have to do with delivery problems because of a poor transportation network or lack of production facilities. That's not the case in here.
The diesel shortage apparently has its roots in a disagreement between the government and the local refinery. There's plenty of diesel if only the two parties could agree on a price per liter. What this means for everybody here is long lines at the gas station and rationing of what diesel we currently have on had. For now, gas stations will not fill barrels so we have been siphoning diesel from our Land Cruisers and putting it in our barrels. Hopefully, the diesel will begin to flow more regularly and the pent-up demand will dissipate and we can all get back to normal.
The propane shortage is a bit more sticky. Word on the street is that there's sort of a strike taking place. The local venders want to charge more for the propane however they are not being allowed to. So, they've just stopped selling it. We are lucky. We've got a decent supply at the Welcome Center. But, it won't last forever. Nobody seems to know when propane will be available. I certainly hope soon!!!
Have a great weekend.
Steve
In a developing country such as Chad one might expect to encounter shortages of various things like fuel and electricity. For example, right now we are about 2 weeks into a diesel shortage and over a month into a propane shortage. Ordinarily you'd think that problems related to amenities such as those would probably have to do with delivery problems because of a poor transportation network or lack of production facilities. That's not the case in here.
The diesel shortage apparently has its roots in a disagreement between the government and the local refinery. There's plenty of diesel if only the two parties could agree on a price per liter. What this means for everybody here is long lines at the gas station and rationing of what diesel we currently have on had. For now, gas stations will not fill barrels so we have been siphoning diesel from our Land Cruisers and putting it in our barrels. Hopefully, the diesel will begin to flow more regularly and the pent-up demand will dissipate and we can all get back to normal.
The propane shortage is a bit more sticky. Word on the street is that there's sort of a strike taking place. The local venders want to charge more for the propane however they are not being allowed to. So, they've just stopped selling it. We are lucky. We've got a decent supply at the Welcome Center. But, it won't last forever. Nobody seems to know when propane will be available. I certainly hope soon!!!
Have a great weekend.
Steve
1 comment:
Its unfortunate that other people have to suffer due to another parties disagreement. If only we could live in a world where we no longer had that. I guess both the government & the gas company need to make money to feed their families, but if only they could leave their personal interests out of the equation & focus on the greater good.
Amazing blog, I'm definitely going to be in touch. (:
-T.A.B
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