Niël Terblanché
WITH thousands of Namibians expected to take to the roads when measures restricting the movement of people under the State of Emergency are lifted on Tuesday, motorists can also look forward to paying less for fuel while filling up their vehicles.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy in a statement announced that the price per litre of fuel will be one dollar cheaper than what if was a month earlier.
At the end of March, the price of petrol per litre was reduced by N$1.70 and that of diesel with N$1.20, which means the price of petrol declined by almost three dollars over the past two months.
The world wide restriction of movement of people as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic saw the crash of international oil prices.
The Namibia Dollar also at the same time devaluated sharply against the United States Dollar.
Besides paying less for fuel, Namibians are also looking at paying less for consumer goods because the price of fuel plays a significant role in the pricing of goods as a result of transport costs from places like South Africa.
The Ministry of Mines and energy in its statement said the international oil market was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as demand weakened and over production flooded the market.
Despite the decline of the Namibia Dollar against the United States Dollar and a sharp drop in oil prices, the ministry still achieved significant over-recoveries per product landed at Walvis Bay.
The over-recoveries were high, which meant that the energy ministry was able to adjust the pump prices downwards for a second consecutive month.
As a result of the sharp drop in oil prices, companies have not been able to recoup their projected margins and in this regard, the Ministry of Mines and Energy decided to increase the industry margin with seven cents per litre.
The ministry has also temporarily lifted the dealer margin with 50 cents per litre for the months of May, June and July to help get retailers that have suffered significant drops in business back on their feet.
The new pump price of petrol per litre at Walvis Bay will be adjusted downwards to N$10.35 and that of 50 ppm diesel to N$11.13 from the 1st of April.
