Nothing but hot air

RUMOURS of a dire gas shortage on Tuesday turned out to be nothing but hot air and highlighted some citizens’ propensity to rumormonger and panic. In an era of fake news and social media manipulation, such tendencies should be frowned upon. We call for more responsible behaviour.

Whatever the circumstances behind United Independent Petroleum Marketing Company Ltd (Unipet)’s closure of its stations, the impact of the move was to trigger speculation on the part of its regular customers and then the general public. A narrative of unsustainable fuel margins has emerged, but whether such a matter demanded the drastic action witnessed this week is a matter of debate. By Unipet’s account, enough was enough.

It’s really for individual businesses to run their affairs the way they see fit, but one cannot help but feel muscle has been flexed – whether through strain or wilful exercise. Unipet and, by extension, the Petroleum Dealers Association have certainly regained the attention of Energy Minister Franklin Khan and Finance Minister Colm Imbert. Khan has conceded a case has been made out.

“We are aware that there are challenges with the liquid fuels margins,” he said. “The case has been made out by both the association and Unipet.”

The picture, though, remains complex in light of the fact that the State still continues to subsidise fuel. After years of gradual cutbacks, Imbert left the subsidy on diesel untouched in order to protect consumers from the ripple effect that could be caused because of transport costs for goods and services.

Unipet has a total of 24 service stations located throughout the country but it also engages in the transportation of bulk fuel to large commercial customers, through Unipet Transport Division, which is a wholly owned Unipet subsidiary. This means its dealings with the State, however difficult and unsatisfactory, is a mixed bag in light of the way the Government supports the market as a whole.

The deeper issue is the extent to which private companies can or should rely on support from the State; the bounds of price policing; and the imperatives of essential goods and services. Do we need more regularisation? Or less?

Yet, the most pressing issue that emerged was the problem of mass hysteria among Trinidadians/Tobagonians. There is nothing wrong with being over-cautious. In the event of natural disasters, long lines at fuel stations and supermarkets are something we have all become accustomed too.

But the way the rumour of a nationwide shortage spread so quickly should be a cause for concern. Too often we have seen instances of the boy who cried wolf. Social media users have a responsibility to seek out credible sources of information and to always take things with a grain of salt. We’re not expecting ordinary citizens to become expert fact-checkers. We’re just calling for more maturity and the use of commonsense whenever alarmist rumours start spreading like wildfire.