IPC demands answers on Vitol deal … claims ‘monopoly’ was engineered in domestic fuel sector
Namibia’s official opposition, the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), is mounting pressure on the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy (MIME) over a controversial decision to appoint global energy trader Vitol as Namibia’s exclusive fuel supplier for three months. The IPC has accused the government of deliberately engineering a fuel supply monopoly, sidelining competition and... The post IPC demands answers on Vitol deal … claims ‘monopoly’ was engineered in domestic fuel sector appeared
Namibia’s official opposition, the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), is mounting pressure on the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy (MIME) over a controversial decision to appoint global energy trader Vitol as Namibia’s exclusive fuel supplier for three months.
The IPC has accused the government of deliberately engineering a fuel supply monopoly, sidelining competition and undermining the commercial interests of the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor).
In a strongly worded statement released on Wednesday, IPC Member of Parliament and Shadow Minister of Industries, Mines and Energy, Ferdinand Uazapi Hengombe questioned the legality, transparency and economic rationale of the exclusive fuel import arrangement, alleging that the government had fundamentally reshaped Namibia’s petroleum market in favour of a single international company while weakening the country’s national oil company. The intervention is the strongest political challenge to the N$7.2 billion fuel supply plan by Minister Modestus Amutse, who defended it as an emergency to protect consumers and the economy from rising international fuel prices caused by Middle East tensions.
IPC’s Hengombe raises concerns about transparency, accountability, and Namibia’s national interests.
“The Minister’s actions raise serious questions about compliance with Namibia’s legal and regulatory framework governing the energy sector,” Hengombe stated.
