Addis Ababa ground to a near-halt on Tuesday as Ethiopia's capital announced that fuel will only be available to emergency vehicles, according to residents and social media reports.
The announcement represents the latest manifestation of the currency crisis gripping Ethiopia following years of conflict and economic strain. The restriction, affecting a city of over 5 million people, has left ordinary residents unable to refuel their vehicles at petrol stations across the capital.
"They announced today that gas will only be available to emergency vehicles," one resident told the Ethiopia subreddit, reflecting the sudden nature of the restriction that caught many residents unprepared.
The fuel shortage comes as Ethiopia continues to grapple with foreign currency shortages that have plagued fuel imports for months. The Horn of Africa nation has struggled to secure sufficient hard currency to pay for petroleum products, a challenge exacerbated by the economic toll of the Tigray conflict that formally ended in 2022 but continues to strain government finances.
Ethiopia imports all of its refined petroleum products, making it particularly vulnerable to foreign exchange shortages. The National Bank of Ethiopia has been rationing foreign currency, prioritizing essential imports like medicine and food, but fuel has increasingly become scarce as dollar reserves dwindle.
The restriction to emergency vehicles only suggests the shortage has reached critical levels, forcing authorities to prioritize ambulances, fire services, and police vehicles over private transportation and commercial activity.
For residents of Addis Ababa, the announcement means severe disruption to daily life. The city's public transportation system, already strained, will face additional pressure as private vehicles sit idle. Small businesses that depend on transportation face potential losses, while the restriction could drive up prices for goods that need to be transported across the city.
This is not the first fuel crisis Ethiopia has faced in recent years, but the explicit restriction to emergency vehicles marks an escalation. Similar shortages in 2022 and 2023 led to long queues at petrol stations and black market fuel sales at inflated prices.
The Ethiopian government has been implementing economic reforms aimed at stabilizing the currency and attracting foreign investment, but progress has been slow. The fuel shortage underscores the ongoing challenges facing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's administration as it seeks to rebuild the economy after conflict and navigate a difficult external debt situation.
54 countries, 2,000 languages, 1.4 billion people. When one capital runs dry, it's a reminder that economic sovereignty requires more than rhetoric.
