Herunga steps down as Fishcor acting CEO

INTERIM National Fishing Corporation (Fishcor) boss Ruth Herunga has stepped down as its acting chief executive officer.

“I am pursuing other interests,” she said when quizzed about her departure from the troubled Fishcor.

Herunga has been at the helm of the organisation for seven months. She was appointed a day after the last executive manager, finance manager Paulus Ngalangi, resigned. Herunga was appointed to steer the company to calm waters.

At the time of taking over the company was in financial trouble, unable to timeously pay salaries for employees of Fishcor and its subsidiaries at Luderitz. During the same period, the Seaflower Whitefish factory at Luderitz was at a standstill, as it could not afford to pay service providers to fix problems on some equipment.

Herunga managed to secure employment for over 455 retrenched employees of the Seaflower Pelagic Process (SPP) at Walvis Bay through the sale of 10 000 tonnes of freezer horse mackerel.

State-owned Fishcor is a 40% shareholder in SPP.

“I am grateful for the opportunity I was given. It was an enlightening challenge but I am grateful for the experience. We made strides to stabilise the company. The company is now financially stable,” she said, adding that being at the helm of Fishcor was a well-served sacrifice.

“The head office is at Luderitz and I drove that road throughout my tenure. It was a sacrifice I made and I am happy I could contribute positively to the company,” she added.

Herunga’s departure sends the organisation back into autopilot mode, with no executive and in the hands of junior staff. The board is still in the process of appointing a chief executive officer, who, in turn, is expected to appoint his/her own executive team.

Interim board chairperson Heinrich Mihe Gaomab said the organisation will pronounce itself on the matter next week.

“We want to mature the process with the board this week. We shall ensure briefing by next week,” said Gaomab.

He did not reveal who will be in charge but The Namibian has established that the board has appointed the company’s current financial accountant and acting general manager for finance Risto Daniel as the officer in charge.

Minister of public enterprises Leon Jooste did not reply to questions sent to establish what will happen to Herunga’s board position now that she has cut ties with the company.

The board’s term of office was recently extended to 31 December.