CONAKRY – Guinea is experiencing a new energy crisis. After the scarcity of gasoline, it is now diesel that is becoming increasingly scarce across the country, paralyzing many economic activities, particularly in mining areas.

This shortage is hitting women crusher owners particularly hard, leaving them unable to operate their equipment. Without fuel, their incomes are plummeting and their families are being plunged into poverty. For many of them, these machines are their only source of livelihood.

A cry for help in the mining areas

In several mining communities, the situation is becoming critical. These women, the true pillars of the local economy, are calling on the authorities to act quickly to restore fuel supplies.

“We are at our wits’ end. Without diesel, our machines are at a standstill, and we no longer have enough to feed our families,” laments an operator from Siguiri, interviewed by SeneWeb.

The prolonged cessation of their activities threatens not only their income, but also the economic and social balance of mining communities already weakened by the rising cost of living.

Makeshift solutions with risky consequences

Lacking alternatives, some farmers are resorting to makeshift solutions. In several areas, peanut oil is now being used to power machinery.

"We have no choice. Diesel is impossible to find. We use peanut oil, even though we know it risks damaging the machines," confides another worker.

This practice, which has become commonplace in the Siguiri prefecture, has caused a surge in the price of peanut oil in local markets. The result: a double crisis, both economic and social, which the inhabitants are denouncing.

An urgent appeal to the State

Faced with rising tensions, the population is calling on the authorities to take urgent measures to restore the supply of diesel fuel and avoid a total paralysis of activities in mining areas.

If no solution is found quickly, the consequences could extend far beyond the mining sector, affecting the entire rural economy and the livelihoods of thousands of Guinean families.