It takes Halima Simba about an hour by foot in a round trip from Zimbabwe to buy petrol in Musina, Limpopo. Her customers are the many taxis stranded without fuel, victims of last week’s spike in the petrol price that made it the most expensive in the world.
Simba is cashing in on the crisis by assisting stranded taxis on the Zimbabwean border and buying petrol for them in Musina.
“I do not own a car. I used this as a way of making extra money. There is no petrol on the other side [in Zimbabwe] so the best way is to come and buy petrol here,” Simba told Times Select.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced late on Saturday that the petrol price would increase from $1.43 to $3.31 per litre, and diesel from $1.38 to $3.11. This was the first time he had addressed the nation on the growing crisis around persistent fuel shortages and Zimbabwe’s worsening economic environment.
The announcement sparked a bloody protests, with at least five people killed and scores injured in clashes...