Africa-Press – Angola. The Government of the Province of Cunene, in the south of Angola, defined new rules for the service of vehicles with Namibian registration plates, as part of the fight against fuel smuggling in the region.
The measures in force since last Thursday (14) determine that vehicles with Namibian registration plates start to refuel at stations in Santa Clara, while heavy goods vehicles start to be serviced at stations in Naipalala (Ondjiva) and Xangongo (Ombadja ), respectively.
This Monday, local motorists praised the measures that will greatly contribute to combating fuel smuggling into the Republic of Namibia.
Motorbike taxi driver Eusébio Ndataloneni said that the fueling process has improved considerably, leaving behind long queues and lack of fuel at the pumps.
He explained that in recent years, the province had been struggling with problems of flooding at gas stations due to a high number of vehicles coming from Namibian territory to refuel in Angola.
Pedro Jamba, also a motorcycle taxi driver, praised the work of the local authorities, recalling, over the last four years, the hours of waiting for fuel to be filled on motorbikes, a situation that created difficulties in carrying out the activity.
Motorist António Manuel, on the other hand, welcomes the measure, thus limiting the high number of Namibians who cross the border daily in search of fuel in Cunene, many of whom have adapted tanks.
“The situation created great constraints, because Namibian vehicles took a long time to fill their tanks, which also caused fuel failure,” he said.
For his part, the provincial commander of the National Police in Cunene, Commissioner António Ribeiro, explained that the action aims to combat fuel smuggling practices to the neighboring Republic of Namibia.
According to the commissioner, in addition to combating fuel trafficking along the border, vehicles with Namibian registration plates are currently confined to refueling at certain selected points.
He explained that in recent times, motorists have chosen to change the tanks of their vehicles in order to transport the greater volume of the product.
Meanwhile, he ensured the reinforcement of mechanisms to combat fuel smuggling along the Angola/Namibia common border.
Data from the National Police in Cunene indicate that during this year, 20,810 liters of smuggled fuel were seized on the border between Angola and Namibia.
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