Fish belong to all Namibians: Basson

KEETMANSHOOP, 20 JUN  – Over 100 people in Keetmanshoop on Wednesday attended the //Kharas regional leg of national workshops on applying for marine fishing rights conducted by Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) officials.
Speaking before the workshop kicked off, //Kharas Governor, Lucia Basson called upon the ministry to ensure that the application and evaluation process of the latest available rights is carried out in a fair and transparent manner.
“No Namibian should be excluded, because the fish belong to all Namibians. No one should be left out; let it be fair and transparent. Fairness is why you are here to educate us, I believe,” she said, referring to the ministry officials.
Basson expressed concern over those who have used the names of communities to apply for fishing rights previously, while the communities never benefited from it.
“For the last 20 years, these individuals have benefited alone,” she said.
MFMR Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ueritjiua Kauaria reiterated that only Proprietary Limited (PTY Ltd) companies can apply for the 2018 fishing rights, adding this is not for the poor to be left out, but to protect them from the “big fish”.
“In the past, applicants applied as Close Corporation (CC) companies and promised to give back to the community a certain percentage from their profits, but never did as shareholders in the CC can be changed without any legal process.”
Kauaria said only PTY Ltd companies can apply as there is a legal process involved when shareholders are changed. He added that every shareholder has a certificate that shows the percentage owned in the company and with that, the person can claim their money.
A presentation on how to fill in the forms, the various requirements and submission procedures was done by the ministry officials.
They explained that application forms can be submitted to the ministry’s offices in Windhoek or through the governors’ offices in the various regions.
Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Bernhardt Esau last month announced that 96 fishing rights in nine fisheries species are to be issued this year. These are hake, horse mackerel, monk, red crab, rock lobster, line fish, large pelagic fish, mullet and seals.
NAMPA