Drought rescue deal under scrutiny

Landless People’s Movement (LPM) parliamentarian Utaara Mootu is irked by the war of words that has erupted between Etosha Fishing and Gendev Fishing Group over a fishing quota allocation by Namibia’s Cabinet.

The allocation was given to Etosha Fishing to save the company from closure and prevent the retrenchment of 430 employees.

According to correspondence seen by The Namibian, at the time of the allocation being granted to Etosha, Gendev had no quota to keep its factory operational.

As such, a catching agreement was entered into on the Etosha quota, the basis of which was a 60-40 split, with Etosha getting 60% while Gendev was to receive the remainder.

The agreement reportedly tied Gendev to the obligation of delivering frozen horse mackerel products to Etosha in order for these products to be delivered to the Office of the Prime Minister for drought relief aid.

A conflict, however, appears to have emerged. According to Etosha Fishing acting managing director Volker Paulsmeier, in a letter to Gendev Fishing Group dated 16 November, Gendev has failed to honour its end of the bargain.

Attempts to reach the management of Gendev proved futile as they were locked in meetings with the company’s board.

Questions sent to both Gendev and Etosha via email were not answered at the time of going to press.

CAPITALISTIC AMBITION

On Monday, the issue reached the National Assembly when lawmaker Mootu questioned fisheries and marine resources minister Derek Klazen about the matter.

Speaking to Desert Radio last week, Mootu reiterated her concern on the conflict which may hold the roll-out of drought relief food hostage, amid serious food scarcity in the country.

“The tender is serving a very important role, that of providing food for the drought relief programme and this is affected by the squabble between these two companies and the lack of supply of Gendev.”

Another issue Mootu highlighted was despite the 60-40 split, Klazen yesterday, according to Mootu, said Gendev is a private company which may trade with any entity with its surplus.

“But their first priority should be Etosha. Our contacts were able to talk to some people and learned that Gendev has been ignoring conversations with Etosha regarding their under supply and that the fish that they are catching under the Etosha rescue quota is being sold on the market for their own capitalistic gain, particularly to the Democratic Republic of Congo,” Mootu said.

She reiterated that the fish is intended to provide relief to a rising number of Namibians on the ground who are suffering severely.

“Recently in the Oshikoto region, it was reported that about 50 000 people are facing severe food insecurity due to poor rainfall and no crop production.

“These are some of the target groups that are supposed to be receiving relief from this rescue quota but cannot, due to Gendev’s own capitalistic ambition to enrich themselves, using the tender that they in the first instance did not have.

“It should be a concern for the nation, if Etosha, in the end, fails to meet its contractual obligation with the government,” Mootu said.

Paulsmeier, in the letter, noted that if Etosha Fishing fail to get the supply, their cannery will close its doors. They want Gendev to deliver an outstanding 1 000 metric tonnes of frozen horse mackerel.

The letter indicates that it was copied to Klazen and fisheries executive director (ED) Annely Haiphene and the ED in the Office of the Prime Minister.

Klazen, according to Mootu, said when he learned of the situation he was in shock. He maintained that he aggressively followed up on the matter.

“He, however, said the process is slow due to there being a limitation of boats with the availability of only one. This does not make sense because our understanding is that Etosha went into this agreement with Gendev because of them having boats,” Mootu said.

The lawmaker expressed concern over the job security of the 430 employees at Etosha Fishing, citing that failure to effectively address the matter could result in job losses.

“The minister kept on playing politics here, not answering the question in terms of the mechanisms that he has put in place to safeguard Etosha from this foreclosure. He did not give clear explanations. We are not sure what is going to happen but what we are informed by the ministry is that they have come to an agreement that the remaining 900 metric tonnes have to be delivered this week,” Mootu said.

KLAZEN SPEAKS

“It was very clear that Etosha should deliver 1 800 tonnes of fish. Etosha has delivered up to 900 tonnes. There is still 900 tonnes left to deliver. They have given me proof that they are going to deliver the fish,” Klazen said, adding that the last delivery was made on 23 November 2023.