Africa-Press – Namibia. THE cross-border smuggling of fuel will continue to be a serious challenge for both the police and the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) as long as the border between Namibia and Angola remains wide open and fuel prices in Angola remain significantly lower than in Namibia. This view was expressed by Andrew Nghiyolwa, Nampol spokesperson in the Ohangwena Region.
“We are continually patrolling the border area, apprehending smugglers, and confiscating hundreds of litres of fuel per day, but the smuggling persists,” said Nghiyolwa.
According to him, there are areas close to the border where fuel smugglers operate discreetly, always alert to any approaching police patrol. When a police patrol approaches the area, they scatter and run across the border, but return as soon as the police leave the area. “You see them standing a few metres on the other side of the border, but can do nothing since they are not in Namibia and the Angolan police can also do nothing because they did not violate any Angolan law,” he said.
Fuel smuggling is hurting the Namibian economy and has directly led to the closure of a number of service stations in the Ohangwena Region.
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