Is Amutse Enabling Fuel Capture?
ENERGY MINISTER MODESTUS Amutse’s decision to grant a Swiss company an exclusive mandate to import all Namibia’s fuel feeds into concerns that the fuel sector has allegedly been captured by individuals linked to politicians as high up as the president. Last week, Amutse chose Swiss commodity trader Vitol, a company dogged by bribery allegations in […] The post Is Amutse Enabling Fuel Capture? appeared first on The Namibian .
ENERGY MINISTER MODESTUS Amutse’s decision to grant a Swiss company an exclusive mandate to import all Namibia’s fuel feeds into concerns that the fuel sector has allegedly been captured by individuals linked to politicians as high up as the president. Last week, Amutse chose Swiss commodity trader Vitol, a company dogged by bribery allegations in several countries, to supply Namibia’s entire fuel needs from June to August. The contract is valued at an estimated N$2.4 billion a month at current fuel prices.
Amutse not only failed to follow due process but effectively undermined the competition watchdog, which falls under his portfolio. In March, the Namibian Competition Commission gave Nasan Energies, co-founded by Miguel Hamutenya (34), the greenlight to buy 52 petrol stations, making it the country’s third-largest fuel retailer. Some were bought from Vivo Energy, which is owned by Vitol.
To stop one group from dominating the market, the commission set a stiff condition: Nasan may not source fuel from Vitol, directly or indirectly, for five years. Nasan is appealing that ban via minister Amutse. Yet while the appeal sits on his desk, the minister has handed the country’s national fuel supply to Vitol, undermining the very regulator whose decision he is meant to weigh.
