Fisheries ministry wants to review fishing quotas

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Hydraulic Engineering and Land Reform, Inge Zaamwani, has announced that her ministry has introduced a scorecard system to measure the sector's performance.


Based on these metrics, a review will be conducted to ensure that fish quotas and associated benefits reach as many people as possible. Zaamwani, responding to questions in Parliament last week, said the fisheries sector remains a key priority under the National Development Plan (NDP6) and the Swapo Party Manifesto Implementation Plan. "Our aim is to ensure that the sector's benefits are more widely distributed, especially directly to communities and not to individuals. "To this end, we will be reviewing the benefits of the sector to date," she said. "Concerns have also been raised about individuals receiving quotas without having the necessary equipment or infrastructure to use them effectively. As someone who is new to the sector, I will draw on the experience of my predecessor to help us assess and potentially reform the current quota allocation system and ensure that quotas are allocated to those identified in our empowerment programs."


Vulnerable people exploited - Zaamwani acknowledged that vulnerable people were being exploited when applying for quotas and were then excluded from the benefits and called for a thorough review of the sector. "We need to understand how people could be listed as shareholders on paper but not receive any real benefit. There are also concerns that traditional authorities are receiving quotas that do not benefit their communities. It is our responsibility - both as national and local policymakers - to ensure that quotas issued in the name of community members actually benefit the intended beneficiaries," she added. Unemployed fishermen, a “state of emergency” Last week, Swapo MP Ephraim Nekongo said the long-standing crisis of unemployed fishermen in Walvis Bay should be declared a state of emergency. He emphasised that Namibia cannot continue to grapple with the same problem just because politicians “go there to score cheap political points”. After numerous protests and failed negotiations between the fishermen and the government, Nekongo said the seventh government had been unable to address the problem adequately.


Reform minister's powers - Speaking on NTV's “The Agenda”, Nekongo criticised officials who, once appointed, tended to “tread water” and neglect the real work. In 2023, the leader of the People's Democratic Movement, McHenry Venaani, had told the National Assembly that he intended to introduce a bill to reform the powers of the fisheries minister - powers that were at the centre of the Fishrot corruption scandal. Venaani's bill aimed to limit the discretionary powers of the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources in allocating quotas for non-commercial fishing or reserves. Speaking to Namibia Sun on Tuesday, he said the bill was rejected without any discussion.


“We will reintroduce it next quarter and see if the new government is serious about fighting bribery,” he said.


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