‘Army and police must combat fuel smuggling’

Representatives of the Namibia Local Business Association (Naloba) and the Fuel and Franchise Association of Namibia (Fafa) have called on the government to deploy the army and police along Namibia’s border with Angola to prevent illegal fuel smuggling.

The call was made at a meeting by the two organisations at Ongwediva on Wednesday.

Naloba vice president Peter Amadhila said the government should deploy the police and army to the borders, as was done with the anti-poaching initiative, as well as during the Covid-19 lockdown.

“The government should deploy the police and defence force along the borders to combat fuel smuggling,” he said.

One of the participants supported Amadhila, saying members of the defence force are sitting, eating and drinking in Windhoek.

Amadhila claims mines and energy minister Tom Alweendo visited the border on several occasions, but has not yet addressed the issue.

“If the minister was invited to look at the problem, and it is a national problem of fuel smuggling and at the end of the day the government says there is nothing. I haven’t seen a government that says there is nothing that it can do,” he said.

For the government to say there is nothing it can do to protect the border and combat fuel smuggling is not acceptable, he said.

“This is how we conclude that he (Alweendo) is not serious. Definitely something should be done. These are territorial borders where contraband and illegal fuel must be stopped, and only the government can do that,” he said.

Defence ministry spokesperson Petrus Shilumbu said he could not comment on the matter as it had not been raised with the ministry of defence.
Namibian Police inspector general Joseph Shikongo did not respond to calls on his mobile phone.

The attendants of the meeting, most of who were fuel station owners, expressed their disappointment with the government for not doing enough to calm the situation as motorists now drive to the border to fill up their vehicles there.

The meeting on Wednesday formed a steering committee which envisages to meet with Alweendo in two weeks to address the issue.

The committee comprises Naloba president Erastus Shapumba, Amadhila, Fafa chairperson Deklen Viviers and his vice Michael Ludeke as the main members of the committee.

Additional members will be appointed on the committee at a later stage.