Namibia: Panic, Profit and Petroleum …Lessons From the Fuel Scare

Yesterday morning, scenes unfamiliar to many Namibians unfolded across Windhoek and beyond. Long queues snaked through service stations, tempers simmered, and uncertainty hung in the air. Some fuel outlets even cordoned off their forecourts with cones, citing empty tanks. By afternoon, government had stepped in, warning service stations against withholding fuel in anticipation of a price increase.

What played out was not merely a supply issue–it was a convergence of panic, opportunism and fragile…