2015-09-15Staff Report 2 Query: If I want to import, distribute or export petrol or diesel in bulk quantities, how do I go about it? Anyone who wants to import petroleum products into Namibia must have a wholesale license. One should also have an import permit as provided for under the Import and Export Control Act, 1994 (unless such import is from within the customs union). The import permit is issued by the Ministry of Trade and Industry once the Ministry of Mines and Energy approves such an import. Query: How do I apply for a wholesale license? You need to complete a PP/3 Form (the formal application) and attach a certified copy of your identity document – and in the case of non-Namibian citizens, any of the following: a permanent residence permit, or an employment permit, and proof of residence in Namibia, or proof of domicile in Namibia. If you are a corporate body (for example a company, close corporation or co-operative), you need to provide a certified copy of registration. You are also required to provide a list of all retail outlets and others (e.g. detail name of government department, consumer installations, etc.) that you intend to supply with petrol and diesel at the date of the application. A list of the ports of entry or exit from where you intend to import or export, as the case may be, petrol or diesel. A list of all storage facilities you intend to use, including shared storage facilities with other wholesalers. You must also specify the location of the storage facilities, the capacity of the storage facilities, the ownership of the storage facilities (including the ownership of the land on which the storage facilities are situated, if different) and, in the case of shared ownership, the basis of sharing, as well as the names of other wholesalers sharing the same storage facilities. In the case of storage facilities to be erected, final design or construction drawings of buildings to be erected, road works, structures and plant, including the location thereof, or if not available, preliminary sketches or a general layout plan thereof, and in the case of existing storage facilities, the as-built or recorded drawings of buildings, roadworks, structures and plant, including the location thereof. If an environmental assessment study has been conducted, a certified copy of the document setting out the findings of the study should accompany the application. One should note that a wholesale license is not transferable. A new company must apply as a new applicant. President Hage Geingob, could your office look into the rural electrification programme, please? The Ministry of Mines and Energy has every year since Independence dedicated funds to the Rural Electrification programme. To date the government through the Ministry of Mines and Energy has spent over N$850 million on the Rural Electrification Project. This means that 1567 public institutions (including, but not limited to schools, clinics, conservancy offices, police stations, agricultural offices and churches) and 48 588 homesteads were electrified in all 13 regions. This translates to more than 70% of public institutions and more than 18% of homesteads electrified since 1990. This includes the grid electricity and off-grid electricity in areas where the grid connection is not feasible. This year alone, government has committed about N$48.3 million to rural electrification. This amount will cater for electrifying 119 public institutions and 325 households, as well as formal and informal business countrywide. The policy or rural electrification introduced in 2011 was to electrify all public institutions as listed above first, before extending to households and business centres, due to limited funds. Once all the public institutions are electrified countrywide, government may consider including the households and business centres within 500m radius of the transformer, as was done at the inception of the programme. In the event that there are no public buildings at an area to be electrified, electricity connection can then be extended to households. Ten Hasheela, chief public relations officer in the Ministry of Mines and Energy. Email: thasheela@mme.gov.na 2015-09-15Staff Report 2
