By Deon Schlechter
WINDHOEK – Harsh words were exchanged between the chairperson of Witvlei Meat Sidney Martin and a respresentative of the Norwegian importer of Namibian prime beef during an urgent stakeholders’ meeting yesterday.
Martin and local representative of Nortura of Norway, Eben de Klerk, had not many kind words for each other after De Klerk insinuated that Witvlei Meat was bankrupt, when the issue of the outstanding payment of N$50 million by Nortura to Witvlei Meat was raised.
The amount stems from an urgent application by Witvlei Meat in the high court in Oslo, Norway, where Witvlei Meat demands payment of N$50 million for its last consigment of 350 tonnes of frozen beef to Norway.
Witvlei has calculated the amount via an independent actuarial and consultant company in Windhoek after an investigation revealed that Nortura was paying Witvlei Meat consistently less per tonne of export beef than it was paying Meatco.
The court in Oslo has been informed via Witvlei Meat’s lawyers but the date has not been set as Martin wanted to use yesterday’s stakeholders’ meeting for Nortura to explain why Witvlei Meat was paid less than Meatco over a period of three years for each shipment of beef.
For the first time in three years since Witvlei Meat and Nortura entered into a partnership with a 30 percent shareholding for Nortura, the Norwegian company did not send a Norwegian representative to the stakeholders’ meeting.
This is seen as a direct indictment of the relationship that went sour after Witvlei Meat demanded payment of N$50 million from Nortura after their Norwegian subsidiary NoriDane, which acts as agent for them, failed to pay Witvlei Meat the outstanding amounts over the three-year period.
Things almost got ugly when Martin reacted strongly to the insinuation that Witvlei Meat is bankrupt.
“Witvlei Meat is not bankrupt. We demand the payment of N$50 million because it is owed to us by NoriDane and ultimately Nortura. You cannot be bankrupt if someone else owes you N$50 million,” he fired back at De Klerk.
After the meeting, Martin spoke exclusively to New Era, saying the meeting was the last chance for Nortura’s representative to explain the Norwegian company’s stance on payments.
“Witvlei Meat wants that much because it belongs rightfully to us and our workers who are now without jobs, thanks to a plot from overseas and locally,” he said.
Martin says it is sad that such a huge company as Nortura could not make the effort to explain the short payments to the Witvlei Meat Board.
“It is tragic, especially aftre Nortura and NoriDane have been informed about the retrenchment of some 200 people and the sad consequences thereof to the Witvlei community,” he says.
According to the allocated quota for 2015, Meatco gets 78.1 percent and Witvlei Meat 21.9 percent of the total allowed quota of 1 600 tonnes.