Government lifts the guard against Vitol, citing its own Vitol deal

Statement by the Shadow Minister of International Relations and Trade

1. By Government Notice No. 235, published in Government Gazette No. 8969 on 3 July 2026, the Minister of Industries, Mines and Energy suspended “until further notice” the conditions that barred Nasan Energies from sourcing fuel from Vitol, the firewall the independent Namibian Competition Commission imposed in April to stop one trader tightening its grip on the country’s fuel.

2. The Commission did not act lightly. It found the deal “likely to result in the prevention or substantial lessening of competition.” The Minister has now suspended those conditions under section 49 of the Competition Act and his own reasons, published in the gazette, record that “no representations were received.”

3. The Minister lists, as a change in circumstances justifying the suspension, that “Government has adopted interim fuel-security measures, including the appointment of a single bulk supplier.”

4. On the public record, that single supplier is Vitol Bahrain E.C. In other words, the Government points to a Vitol appointment it made itself as a reason to remove the guardrail against Vitol.

5. Vitol already controls an estimated 75 to 85 percent of Namibia’s wholesale fuel. Every dollar at the pump — the taxi driver in Katutura, the pensioner in Khorixas, the farmer in //Kharas — flows through that concentration. Competition is the one thing that disciplines the price they pay. The Commission tried to protect it. The Minister suspended the protection, on the strength of the applicant’s own affidavit and no representations at all.

6. IPC therefore calls on the Minister of Industries, Mines and Energy to table the full section 49 review record: the application, the founding affidavit and supporting documents, and the reasons in Annexure A to Government Notice No. 235.

7. The Minister must confirm whether the “single bulk supplier” cited in his reasons is Vitol, and table the terms of that appointment.

8. The Minister must confirm whether the Namibian Competition Commission was consulted before its conditions were suspended.

9. The Minister must state by what date, and on what criteria, the suspension “until further notice” will lapse.

Namibia is all we have
Namibia is not for sale
We must and can save it!

Back to rodneycloete.com.na · Earlier on this site: Vitol fuel supply extension (10 September 2026)