Fisheries minister will not discuss Fishrot

The minister of fisheries and marine resources, Derek Klazen, on Thursday told fishing industry representatives he will not entertain talk about the Fishrot scandal.

During his first annual fishing industry address at Walvis Bay, Klazen acknowledged that events around the Fishrot case involving some fishing companies and the fisheries ministry brought the government and a number of fishing companies in a position of scrutiny, criticism and disgrace.

“The exact details of these incidents are well known and are within the public space and discourse,” Klazen said, adding that the matter is now before Namibias courts of law for adjudication.

Klazen asked that everything be left to the judiciary without influence from the executive or legislative branches of government.

He called on the media, which he said is inundating him with questions, to maintain trust in the judiciary and allow it to determine the guilt or lack thereof of those brought to trial.

“While we accept that the responsible branch of government is dealing with establishing the blameworthiness or blamelessness of those on trial, our jobs remain the management and sustainable exploitation of fisheries for the benefit of all Namibians and not the spreading, peddling or creating of negative narratives around our fishing industry,” he said.

Klazen added that as of 2020 the fisheries ministry has stopped allocating fishing quotas to other entities through the National Fishing Corporation of Namibia (Fishcor), which features at the centre of the Fishrot scandal.

“Fishcor only receives the quota that is rightfully allocated to the company. The Fishcor quota is now allocated through the Minister of Public Enterprises and the board chairperson for reasons of accountability,” said Klazen.

He promised that his team is committed to upholding policies and legal directives of the fishing sector.

Klazen added that policies and legal provisions that appear to be vulnerable to abuse would be addressed.