By Dr Moses Amweelo Recently, some people may have seen more government vehicles on our roads boasting eFuel stickers on their windscreens and on or near their fuel tank inlets. Another noticeable mark in this regard is that you may equally or simultaneously have noticed that strategically, a selected number of service stations are colourfully branded with the eFuel sign. This is no coincidence at all. In fact, it is all about good planning in ensuring that our resources are utilized correctly, effectively and most efficiently. The government garage, which owns and administers the government fleet of vehicles, has spent a lot of money on fuel and oil each year. In this process, several thousands of litres of fuel and oil are not accounted for due to the current cumbersome refuelling process. As a result, widespread abuse of fuel, oil and government vehicles continues unabated. The abuse of the conventional credit card-type system as well as the order book system continues to rob taxpayers of millions of Namibian dollars. However, in an attempt to take control of every drop of fuel, which the government pays for, the government garage recently implemented a new electronic fuel and oil-purchasing system for government vehicle fleets. The system, which is known as eFuel, is aimed at stamping out corruption and fuel fraud. The electronic fuel (eFuel) is a card-free system, using technology regarded as the ultimate in fuel control convenience. Electronic fuel (eFuel) technology confirms that the right vehicle is being filled and will electronically capture odometer readings with no human input required at the time of refuelling, and generate detailed reports on the fuel usage on a regular basis, thus eliminating fuel fraud and theft. The eFuel technology effectively replaces the physical petrol cards, order books, accounts and direct cash transactions of the refuelling process. The entire refuelling process is fully automated for the ease and convenience of the driver and service stations, and in turn reduces risks of keeping cash on the forecounts. All government garage staff members are delighted that they no longer have to spend large amounts of fuel for their depots that were in most instances ineffective. Instead, government vehicles can now fill up at strategically-selected Engen, Total and Caltex service stations countrywide, at any time. It therefore gives one a real sense of hope and a real feeling of being in total control of one’s resources to note that the concept of electronic fuel (eFuel) captures all fuel and vehicle details electronically. I’m assured that the eFuel system will achieve a substantial saving on current fuel costs for the government. The transaction is done automatically by data transmission from the vehicle to the fuel-mat controller during the refuelling process. This is based on actual experiences in South Africa, Israel, and Brazil, where similar systems have been implemented. During its first three months of operation, a 25% saving in their monthly fuel bill had been achieved by South Africa’s Portnet road transport, which implemented the system on its 400 terminal vehicles and its associated diesel and petrol pumps in September 1996. The project, which includes the equipping of an initial 34 of the country’s service stations with eFuel technology, was introduced for the first time (in 2003) in Namibia. Various ministries, semi-government institutions and private firms have expressed interest in eFuel. Since the eFuel system went on line in September 2003, remarkable improvements have been experienced, whilst more government vehicles continue to be fitted with the new technology at the government garage in Windhoek and its other centres countrywide. I urge AFS Namibia and its entire eFuel consortium to accelerate the completion of the fitment of vehicles and service stations – not only government vehicles, but to include all semi-government institutions, and private vehicles which are not yet on eFuel – to immediately introduce eFuel, as a matterÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ of priority, in order to effectively curb fuel theft and the gross abuse of government vehicles and other semi-government vehicles fleet.