Mines and Energy Minister Tom Alweendo says the government is not against the sale of Angolan fuel in the country, but wants the trade to be regularised.
“No one has approached the government to apply for a wholesale licence in order to supply fuel, nor have we declined such an offer. Once someone applies for a wholesale licence we do not care where they buy it from, whether it’s Angola or elsewhere. So, in this case, we are against those trading without authorisation as it is against the law,” Alweendo told The Brief on the margins of a Stakeholders’ engagement on emerging opportunities in the mining and energy industry.
This comes as smuggled fuel from Angola popularly known as ‘Ngungula’ is flooding northern towns due to its relatively cheaper price than local pump prices that have increased exponentially this year making it unaffordable for many.
In Angola fuel is priced below N$10 (US$0.37) per litre, while in Namibia it’s more than double that price at over N$22 per litre.
Alweendo said fuel is cheaper in Angola because “the government heavily subsidises the petroleum, thus making it more affordable. However, this over reliance on subsidy comes with a level of civil unrest when you want to reduce or abolish it”.
He ruled out the suggestion that Namibia should import fuel from Angola, saying it was not economically viable.
“Only about 15% of fuel is refined in Angola, while the remaining 85% is imported from the same international market we procure ours. So, it does not make sense and formally it is impossible for us to import any fuel from them. There is only one international market price, which applies to everyone,” he said.
The Minister, however, noted that “the government will consider establishing or having a refinery plant locally to offset costs that come with importing fuel with the discovery of oil offshore the Namibian coast”.
Meanwhile, Mines and Energy Ministry’s Deputy Director for Regulation Compliance and Economics Carlo McLeod said an investigation carried out in July this year revealed that there is no delineated border fence between Namibia and Angola, which makes it difficult for law enforcement to control the situation of oil smuggling from Angola, while traditional homesteads near the borderline in both countries are used as storage of the smuggled fuel. He noted that taxis are the primary consumers of smuggled fuel.
“Manpower and transportation are in short supply. Officers use their own vehicles to conduct border operations, whereas the majority of border guards are aging. Thus it becomes a life-threatening concern, not only economically and security wise, but also to the police officers who are attacked by fuel smugglers, resulting in injuries, property damage and use of firearms to control the situation,” McLeod said.
He also accused law enforcement officers from both countries for being party to the fuel smuggling.
“You might see Angolan officers standing at points where smuggling is happening, but they are doing nothing. In addition, some of the law enforcers from both countries are involved in the smuggling of fuel, hence it becomes extremely difficult to contain,” the Mines and Energy Ministry’s official said.
According to McLeod, the Ministry therefore recommended that the government make a budget available specifically for infrastructure, equipment and recruitment of young police border guards, while the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety, and Security sees to it that, they deploy police officers from other regions to supplement the existing manpower along the borderline in the affected areas.
“Another concern is that fines and sentences imposed upon the offenders are not stringent to deter them. The fines are little, so are the sentences, hence, such need to be upped to send a strong deterrent message to both the convicted and would-be offenders.”
