Fisheries minister Albert Kawana is not perfect, but he has surely earned himself new admirers judging by the manner in which he is presiding over the affairs of the fisheries ministry.
It is no doubt Kawana was ostensibly thrown in at the deep end when President Hage Geingob first named him as acting fisheries minister following the rushed resignation of Bernhard Esau in 2019 in the wake of the Fishrot scandal.
The head of state reaffirmed Kawana in this position in March last year in a display of confidence in the former justice minister and attorney general to steer this ship out of murky waters as well as bring about the much-needed reforms, especially when it comes to the allocation of fishing rights.
It is true that the fisheries ministry is struggling for credibility given the resultant fallout of the Fishrot scandal, which remains a topical issue to date and has rocked the country in a big way. To preside over a sector and a ministry whose former head is facing counts of fraud, bribery, corruptly using the office for gratification, money laundering and conspiring to commit corruption, is not easy.
The Fishrot scandal has also seen the once popular support of the ruling Swapo steadily erode.
So, it makes great sense for Kawana to go for broke and restore some lost credibility in the affairs of the ministry.
To this end, the minister displayed an act of transparency and accountability this week when he publicly and thoroughly outlined the process leading to the allocation of fishing rights, albeit two years late.
When he made the much-awaited announcement on Tuesday afternoon, Kawana also gave the assurance that he would consult extensively in order to arrive at a comprehensive review of the fisheries sector, with the view to benefit ordinary Namibians.
“Although it is impossible to accommodate every applicant, I believe that there is room for more Namibians to indirectly benefit from this national resource by ensuring that fishing companies locally source all their goods and services which are available in Namibia.
“The industry has already been requested to provide me with a list of those goods and services so that I can coordinate with the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade. As we strive to achieve Namibianisation of the fisheries sector, I appeal for national unity so that we are not derailed from our path.
“Given what has been achieved so far, I believe that we can achieve our goal in the shortest possible time,” Kawana declared on Tuesday.
Although this massive test has now passed, there is still a massive weight of expectation on Kawana’s shoulders, including ensuring sustainable strategies to increase employment and tackle thorny issues such as illegal fishing by foreign trawlers within Namibian waters, among others.
So, all things considered, it is our sincere hope that the much-talked about Namibianisation plan becomes a reality and whose impact should be felt by ordinary citizens across the length and breadth of our country.
It should not end in tears this time around.