Bunia, April 3rd, 2025 (CPA) – The drop of 33.3% in the price of fuel, where a litre has dropped from 4,500 to 3,000 FC, has been observed in Bunia, chief town of the province of Ituri (in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC), CPA noted on Wednesday at the various stations.
‘We would like to express our great satisfaction and joy at the drop in fuel prices at Bunia service stations. The price of a litre of petrol, which previously reached 4,000 CFA francs, or even 4,500 CFA francs, has now returned to its previous level of 3,000 CFA francs, or even 3,300 CFA francs depending on the service station,’ has declared Olivier Makita, a taximan. He has in addition stressed that the drop in fuel prices will improve the profit margins of taximen and make it possible to offer fares at more accessible rates, before describing this drop as a ‘breath of fresh air’ for the sector, hoping that it will encourage more passengers to use their services and thus contribute to revitalise their activities. Other owners of rolling machines have also welcomed the reduction.
Jean-Claude Bamaraki, a inhabitant of Bunia, has indicated that « the increase in the price of fuel had caused a climate of tension between customers and transporters because of the constant changes in the price of fares ». ‘If the price continues to fall, it will allow our bosses and others to invest more in the taxi-bus sector, and consequently improve the quality of service we offer our customers’, has said Bienvenue Bahati, a taxi-bus driver.
The clashes between the Ugandan military and CODECO militiamen at Fataki, an entity located in Djugu territory on national road No. 27, were the main cause of the increase in fuel prices for a while. The system of convoying lorries by the armed forces, introduced by the provincial government, has enabled traffic restoration on the N27.