Non-Govt essential services prohibited from access to fuel bowsers during hard lockdown [1]
Wednesday, March 23, 2022 - 18:11. Updated on Wednesday, March 23, 2022 - 18:22.
If essential non-government services run out of petrol this week, it's just too bad – no refills are allowed until Tonga's hard lockdown ends on Saturday morning.
Only Government vehicles are permitted to refuel at designated petrol stations this week, while the “essential services” run by the Private Sector are not allowed to refill there.
“They must have a ‘P’ number plate,” a NEMO spokesperson told Matangi Tonga today.
While the Travel Authority document issued by the National Emergency Management Office to essential private sector and other services allows approved staff and vehicles move through road checkpoints, the document may not be used to get access to petrol.
So what happens when essential services operated by the private sector run out of petrol?
“You were supposed to fill up before the lockdown!” said the spokesperson.
Well, we did fill up, of course, but it's now mid-week and we've used up our petrol running around providing essential services and our staff have used up their petrol coming to their essential work. So why is only government allowed to refill?
NEMO suggested that the one of the two petrol wholesalers in Tonga might be selling drums of petrol.
Meanwhile, Tonga's Petroleum Regulations prohibit unlicensed persons from keeping more than 4 gallons of petroleum in houses and buildings.
The regulations state that shops and garages can lawfully store up to 44 gallons only if the petrol is kept in an “approved tank.” The issue of a license shall be in the discretion of the Minister of Police.
There are fees for licenses for petrol storage and penalties for offenders.
The hard lockdown for Tongatapu and Vava'u started on March 20 and will run until 5:00am on Saturday March 26, with daily curfew hours from 8:00pm to 8:00am.
The Prime Minister said that all retail and wholsale business, banks, gas stations, bread shops and schools must remain closed for the duration of this week's lockdown.
Exceptions were to be made for the public needing to go to pharmacies, farms and fishing during the day. He said the hard lockdown was implemented to slow down the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
In previous lockdowns the designated essential services in the private sector and non-government sector, included telecommunications operators, news media, security services, marine and ports contractors, statutory bodies, aid agencies, border agencies, building and construction related to critical infrastructure, legal services, health providers, public safety, essential transport and vehicle maintenance services, sanitation, and more. But these services do not have 'P' number plates - so at the moment they can't refill their vehicles with fuel when they need to.