Windhoek
Parliament is in the process of amending laws pertaining to the fisheries sector, with many hoping the changes will end the dominance of the industry by a few Namibians and limit the sale of fishing quotas by locals to foreigners.
Despite attempts to empower local people, the sale of fishing quotas to foreign multinationals is hampering the government’s empowerment drive, to the extent that a huge chunk of fisheries is in the hands of international companies and a largely exclusive group made up of a few locals.
Exclusive prospecting licences (EPLs) and fishing quotas have in recent years helped a few businessmen in the country to amass considerable wealth without much effort,
as all they have to do is acquire the rights, look for foreign partners with capital and sit back while the money rolls in.
The fisheries ministry in 2011 allocated fishing quotas of about 25 000 metric tons to 12 joint ventures formed out of 62 companies, while in the same year the Ministry of Mines and Energy dished out over 400 EPLs.
The scramble for the country’s precious marine resources has become so intense that right holders are widely perceived to have developed an entitlement syndrome, often resorting to lawsuits when their quotas are slashed.
Responding to concerns within the fishing sector raised by lawmakers during the debate on the Marine Resources Amendment Bill in the National Assembly on Tuesday, fisheries minister Bernhard Esau said he was not happy with the sale of fishing rights to foreigners. Neither is he satisfied with the sector’s continued dominance by some of the elite.
“It cannot be right that only the elite group is benefitting from the country’s resources. The youth, women and our elders should also take part,” he said.
Esau also warned fishing right holders that nobody is guaranteed to receive rights during the upcoming allocations in two years’ time.
“Nobody can claim entitlement when it comes to fishing rights. Quotas are not given based on what you own or how many vessels you have,” he said.
Esau said although his drive to compel fishing companies to add value to fish resources within Namibia landed him in court several times, he will continue to promote growth at home by ensuring that jobs are created locally. He vowed to grant incentive quotas only to companies that support the government’s Growth at Home strategy.
Lawmakers adopted the Bill yesterday. In 2013 the number of fishing rights allocated stood at more than 330. There were 38 factories in the fishing sector owned jointly by various right holders at the time.
Concurring with information and communication minister Tjekero Tweya, who said the country’s financial institutions should assist Namibians with capital to operate in the fisheries sector, Esau urged financial institutions to be forthcoming and provide capital to Namibians.
Tweya noted that most Namibian right holders end up selling their rights because the financial institutions are not forthcoming.
“It is high time banks start considering accepting fishing quotas as collateral so that our people can have access to capital,” Esau said in response.
“When they [right holders] want to engage, the financial institutions turn their backs on them. The attitude of financial institutions in this country must change. If not, then the time has come for us to take serious action against them,” Tweya said.
The Minister of Finance Calle Schlettwein urged the fisheries ministry to ensure that fishing quota applicants are in good standing with the country’s tax authorities.
DTA of Namibia president McHenry Venaani in turn called for legislation that will control the sale of fishing rights to foreign multinationals: “Let us start legislating as to what percentage a right holder can sell, as well as come up with deliberate efforts to create jobs in the fishing sector,” he said.
Venaani also raised concern about the dubious trans-shipment practice, whereby fish is transferred between fishing and transport vessels at sea. The operation is mainly used to launder illegally caught fish.
Statistics from the fisheries ministry indicate that in 2011 revenue from the fishing sector amounted to N$5.1 billion, up from N$4.4 billion in 2010. The sector currently employs more than 13 000 onshore and seagoing workers.