Namcor leadership vacuum under spotlight in Vitol fuel deal

Patience Makwele

The government’s decision to award a three-month fuel supply arrangement worth an estimated N$7.2 billion to international energy trader Vitol has intensified scrutiny of governance at state-owned oil company Namcor, which remains without a substantive managing director months after applications for the top position closed.

The arrangement has reignited questions over whether prolonged leadership uncertainty at Namibia’s national oil company may have affected perceptions of its ability to defend its strategic position in the country’s fuel supply chain.

The concerns emerge amid claims that Namcor submitted a cheaper proposal than Vitol, with critics arguing that the decision to bypass the state-owned entity raises broader questions about confidence in its operational capacity and strategic direction.

Namcor board chairperson Utaara Hoveka, however, dismissed suggestions that the company is operating in a leadership vacuum.

“When we had the minister on record, he said the process is over and there is a name that he is submitting to Cabinet,” Hoveka said.