2018-04-20Staff Report 2 Nuusita Ashipala Ongwediva-Businesses from the Cunene Region in neighbouring Angola have pleaded with the Namibian government to revise the daily road entry permit fee on vehicles at the border. The business community wants the government to allow the required regular user entry permit fee of N$230 to be made a monthly instalment, instead of them paying per entry. According to the concerned group, the business people who frequent Namibia through the Oshikango border post into the country for business purposes currently have difficulty paying the required fee, payable upon each entry. They claim motor vehicles from Cunene are easy to identify as each region in Angola has its specific mark and as such should not pose a problem in identifying them. By law, foreign nationals entering Namibia by road are required by law to pay N$230 for a road entry permit. However, the communications and marketing practitioner at the Road Fund Administration (RFA), Beaulah Garises, said the rates are not negotiable as they are gazetted as approved by the Ministry of Works and Transport. She said regular users can apply for a frequent user permit. “A regular user can however apply for a frequent user permit, and should they meet the requirements this can be issued to them. The application can be made at any border where RFA is represented,” said Garises. Local business people at the border town supported the sentiments of the Cunene business community. They said a monthly fee upon entry will increase the number of Angolans from the Cunene Region and thereby boost business at the town and the northern regions. Despite the economic hardships facing Angola in light of oil prices that have fallen, the number of Angolans from Cunene conducting business in Namibia remains very high. 2018-04-20Staff Report 2
