WALVIS BAY – About 180 fishermen who were previously employed by the Samherji-owned Saga Seafood, which operated from Walvis Bay, say they are facing hardships after the company closed down in 2020.
They now want to be assisted by government, as they lost their jobs exactly two years ago when the company’s vessels, Saga and Geysir, left without workers being informed they were pulling out of Namibia. The fishermen were later paid out their severance packages following an intervention by unions.
Saga Seafood said they failed to secure any catch agreements with other local companies, resulting in its closure, leaving at least 210 fishermen without jobs. Samherji, is at the centre of the international fishing bribery scandal implicating former Namibian ministers Sacky Shanghala and Bernhard Esau, as well as local businessmen.
Samherji reportedly secured access to horse mackerel quotas in Namibia by paying bribes of around N$150 million to politicians and businessmen between 2012 and 2018. Following the scandal, the company announced in 2020 that it is disinvesting its operation in Namibia.
The fishermen say that they are now forced to sell their personal belongings just to keep head above water as well as to pay their rent and other personal needs. The men yesterday turned to the Walvis Bay Urban constituency councillor Deriou Benson to assist them in appealing for assistance from government, that would see them also being absorbed back into the fishing sector like the previous 600 fishermen.
“We cannot get jobs and some of us have been selling our personal goods to feed ourselves and our families. The situation is very depressing. That is why we came to our councillor to come to our rescue,” Jackson Kristiaan, who was employed as a deckhand on Geysir, said on behalf of the group.
He said they had been on the streets since 2020, while all the former fishermen including the ones that went on an illegal strike got absorbed in the fishing industry. Fillemon Haidula, also from Geysir, said they also should at least get something just like the other fishermen as they too are affected by the Fishrot scandal.
“Everybody got employed or are at least getting a salary even if they are home, why can’t we also not get the same treatment. It seems that our parliamentarians are only worried about the money stolen by the Fishrot suspects. They forget that we are also victims of Fishrot and lost our source of income,” he said.
Another jobless fisherman Paulus William also appealed to the government and relevant stakeholders to really assist them. “We are really suffering. At least government must find solution for us as well,” he said. The group even asked for the constituency office to help them with food, seeing that they do not have any other income. Benson during the meeting with the fishermen indicated he was aware of their plight and was forwarded a list of the remaining fishermen.
“Problem is that we can only facilitate and try to get answers from the relevant authorities. Hopefully we will get answers from the authorities. We are trying to assist as many people. I was provided with a list of names in the category CE group from the government office.
“They will have to see if the list is accurate. They also need to organised themselves with the union and verify the names on the list provided,” Benson said. So far over 600 fishermen, those directly affected by the Fishrot scandal and those that went on an illegal strike, have been absorbed in the fishing industry by companies such as Tunacor and Vernier. Government, in return, provided quotas to various companies to facilitate the process. As a result, some fishermen now receive monthly salaries of at least N$4 000.
– edeklerk@nepc.com.na