Soyo - The Minister of State and head of the Military Office of the President of the Republic, Francisco Pereira Furtado, denounced on Tuesday in the city of Soyo, Zaire province, the involvement of senior officials of the country in the smuggling of fuel to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
According to the Minister of State, some individuals involved in this phenomenon that occurs regularly in Zaire province have been identified, with emphasis on government officials, former government officials, general officers, commissary officers, administrative authorities at the provincial and municipal levels, as well as traditional authorities.
Francisco Furtado was speaking to the press at the end of a meeting of the multisectoral commission, created by the President of the Republic to combat cross-border crimes, with emphasis on fuel smuggling, illegal fishing and illegal immigration.
He added that 52% of fuel smuggling cases in the country occur in Zaire province, for whom the working meeting served to interact with the provincial government authorities to study together mechanisms to put an end to the phenomenon.
'The country is experiencing a serious phenomenon that is fuel smuggling,' he acknowledged, recalling that there is already a law that criminalizes this practice, which he considered to be a threat to national security.
He said that those involved in this illicit business will know the heavy hand of the law, even running the risk of losing their posts or positions, as was done in the provinces of Lundas Norte and Lunda Sul provinces, in the context of the fight against illegal mining of diamonds.
Francisco Furtado said that the high quantities of fuel stations in Zaire also contributes to the proliferation of smuggling, stressing that the province receives huge amount of gasoline and diesel, but much of it is diverted to the DRC.
He pointed to the liberalization in the issuance of licenses for the commercialization of petroleum products as the main cause of the excess of gas stations in the region, stating that the multisectoral commission will work to reverse this trend.
Among the measures to be taken to change this situation, the Minister of State pointed to the control and inspection of fuel purchase stations in Luanda and trucks that transport the product to the interior of the country.
Francisco Furtado announced that the work team also established a 30-day deadline to stop illegal practices occurring at the Kimbumba river terminal, in the municipality of Soyo, considering that this point has contributed significantly to the smuggling of various goods for the neighboring DRC.
The delegation led by the Minister of State and head of the Military Office of the President of the Republic, the Minister of the Interior, representatives of the Ministries of Transport, Finance, the General Tax Administration (AGT) and Sonangol were part of the delegation.
The meeting was attended by the provincial governor of Zaire, Adriano Mendes de Carvalho, who a few days ago raised concerns about fuel smuggling in the region, during the visit of the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, on August 28th. PMV/JL/DOJ
