As government orders nationwide inspections amid payment disputes with oil firms
By Ennety Munshya | MakanDay Centre for Investigative Journalism
The Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts has blamed oil firms for failing to comply with agreements under the fuel tanker empowerment programme, prompting the order for all trucks to be parked for inspection.
Youth cooperatives that benefited from the initiative—both in phase one under the Patriotic Front (PF) administration and phase two under the United Party for National Development (UPND)—have not been receiving dividends. This has cast doubt over the viability of the programme and raised further questions about its current status.
Following repeated requests for comment by MakanDay, the Ministry has finally provided an update on the status of the empowerment programme, attributing its challenges to some OMCs’ failure to honour the agreement.
“The programme has been experiencing a number of challenges which has seen among others the failure by the Oil marketing Companies (OMCs) to meet the agreed monthly obligations for each fuel tanker,” the Ministry said in a statement.
As a result of widespread non-compliance, the Ministry said, all OMCs have been directed to park the trucks to facilitate a full stock check and routine inspections.
“During this exercise, the Ministry will engage all relevant stakeholders, including the youth cooperatives, to develop a clear and well-thought-out way forward—one that not only benefits the youth cooperatives but also ensures the supplier’s loan is fully repaid,” the Ministry added.
The ministry confirmed that it procured 100 fuel tankers from Kinglong Motors Zambia limited at hire purchase agreement. A 50 percent upfront payment was made towards the loan and the balance was expected to be recovered over a period of three years from the OMC’s operating the trucks. However, the Ministry disclosed that only 75 percent of the total has been paid as of April, 2025.
Tanker ownership
MakanDay has established that fuel tankers allocated to youth cooperatives under phase two of the empowerment programme—implemented under the UPND administration—are still registered under the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts. This is according to records obtained by MakanDay from the cooperatives.
In contrast, tankers distributed during phase one of the programme under the Patriotic Front (PF) are registered in the names of the respective cooperatives.
For example, records obtained by MakanDay the tanker assigned to Be Creative Multipurpose Co-operative Society—registration number BAR 9796ZM—was registered in the cooperative’s name on May 3, 2021.
Like those in phase one, cooperatives under phase two do not have physical possession of the tankers. They were given photocopies of the “white books” as proof of ownership. However, unlike phase one, these documents bear both the name of the cooperative and that of the Ministry—raising questions about shared or unclear ownership.
One such example is the white book for tanker registration number BLC 527ZM, reportedly allocated to Nimwema Youth Transportation Cooperative Society. It lists both the Ministry and the cooperative as registered owners.
In response to questions regarding ownership, the Ministry stated that the supplier, Kinglong Motors, has not yet been fully paid, which has delayed the transfer of ownership to the youth cooperatives. The Ministry assured, however, that once full payment is made, ownership will be formally handed over.
Who is operating the tankers?
According to the Ministry, 99 out of the 100 procured tankers are currently in operation. One tanker was involved in an accident and is undergoing an insurance claims process.
“You may also wish to note that the fuel tanker trucks were not operational from mid-2022, when they were repossessed from Kapesika Energy and Mount Meru, until October 2023, when they were reassigned to new OMCs,” the Ministry stated. “The trucks only became operational in October 2023 after meeting licensing requirements from RTSA and the Energy Regulation Board (ERB).”
Below is the breakdown of the eight companies currently operating the tankers on behalf of the youth cooperatives:
In February this year, MakanDay contacted several of the oil marketing companies named by youth cooperatives as operators of the tankers. TBS Petroleum Director, Thomas Siwale, confirmed that his company had been contracted by the Ministry to manage some of the tankers. However, he noted that regulatory procedures were still being finalised before the tankers could become operational—contradicting the Ministry’s statement that the trucks had been operating since October 2023.
Siwale was unable to confirm the exact number of tankers assigned to his company at the time of the interview.
Records from the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) show that TBS Petroleum was only registered in 2024, raising concerns about the vetting process used in selecting oil marketing companies.
While it remains unclear how much revenue the government has collected from the OMCs operating the tankers, youth cooperatives told MakanDay they have not received the dividends they were promised.
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