On empty
I had been driving my car almost on “empty” for a few days, desperately hoping to get some petrol to fill the tank. But apart from long queues around the block and vague promises of “petrol coming” I had found nothing. I am busy and I just didn’t have the six hours plus required to wait in a queue, and besides many people were waiting that long and getting nothing. So I carried on, waiting and hoping, until finally my luck ran out. The car spluttered to a halt right there in the centre of Bulawayo.
After pushing the car to the side of the road with some help from passers-by, I called
up a friend, Farai, on my cell. Farai is a great guy and he came at once, though he was also low on gas. ”Let’s go buy us some juice on the black market”, he said. “We won’t waste time going round the garages ‘cause sure as hell, they don’t have any.”
Farai drove out through the western suburbs to the Rankini Bus Terminus. I was amazed he seemed to know exactly where to go. When we got there he stopped by the pavement and looked up and down. Soon enough he saw what he wanted. He got out and walked across to a few guys sitting by a coca cola stall. He chatted to them for a few minutes and then came back to get a couple of old cans out of the car.
“They’ve got some,” he said, “but it’s gonna cost you.”
“How much ?” I asked.
“100,000 for 5 litres.”
“Hell, what a rip off.”
“Sure is,” replied Farai, “but have you go a better plan ?”
I had to admit I didn’t. In fact I had no option at all if I was going to get my car home and off the streets that evening. I scratched through my pockets and found the money. We paid the touts and emptied their dirty plastic container into Farai’s tin cans. Then we set off back to town.
I was calculating to myself – $ 20,000 a litre compared to the official price of $ 3,400 for the non existent petrol Mugabe couldn’t find – when Farai said something.
“What’s that ?” I asked.
“I just said I hope that petrol has not been watered down with paraffin or something worse”, he replied.
“My God, I hadn’t thought of that ….”
