Ngungula fuel to be destroyed

Fuel confiscated from what is termed the Ngungula area in northern Namibia will be destroyed. This according to Oshana police regional commander Rauha Amwele, who said the cheap Angolan fuel has created havoc for the Namibian police, as it has led to an increase in smuggling.There have also been reports of suppliers selling the illegal fuel to tourists and Namibian Sun has seen photos of such incidents.Hundreds of 25-litre containers of fuel have been confiscated at Ondangwa and Oshakati. With the prices of fuel having risen to N$19.69 per litre for petrol and N$20.82 for diesel, some consumers have resorted to buying bottled fuel from Angola.Amwele said the ministry of mines and energy gave them two tanks in northern Namibia for the confiscated fuel - one is stationed at the Kasamane border post and another at Oshikango.“The police put the confiscated fuel in those two tanks and from the tanks, the fuel is collected to be destroyed as per instruction by the ministry,” she said.Spokesperson Andreas Simon said the ministry needs to find a more constructive way to deal with this issue.In the end, there needs to be a win for both government and the local consumer, he added.“In future, Namibia needs to consider discussions with Angola, perhaps to convince and lobby Angola to reform by producing a lower sulphur fuel. This, in the end, would benefit Namibia and the entire Southern African Development Community.“Even more, we say Angola produces high sulphur fuel, but is that really the case? Angola currently is part of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and I am sure Opec has strict requirements regarding what is being brought to the pot by its producing members,” he said.Globally accepted fuelSimon added that part of Opec’s requirements for members should be to produce a globally accepted fuel. One which meets standards of lower sulphur, he added.“Angola might be producing both a low- and high-sulphur fuel. It could be that the low-sulphur fuel is earmarked only for its high-end clients, and for Opec contribution. And maybe the high-sulphur fuel is what the common man has access to and that is what they might be selling in Oshikango,” he said.Mines and energy minister Tom Alweendo recently expressed concern that it was difficult to control illegal border trading.After a visit to the Oshikango border post, he expressed worry about the illegal fuel trade in the constituency.Harming the economyMeanwhile, police inspector-general Sebastian Ndeitunga said the smuggling was ruining the business of legal service stations.Ndeitunga said illegal fuel is negatively affecting the economy as people are not paying their dues such as tax to the government.He added that it was difficult to control fuel smuggling because of Namibia’s porous border with Angola.- tuyeimo@namibiansun.com

Ngungula fuel to be destroyed

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Namibian Sun 2025-11-21

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Ngungula fuel to be destroyed

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Namibian Sun 2025-11-21

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