Bidvest Namibia Chief Executive Officer, Sebby Kankondi, says the recent announcement by Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Bernard Esau,
that fishing companies listed on the stock market will not qualify for fishing rights going forward does not affect them in any way since they are in the process of disposing of their fishing interests.
“We are not going to be in fishing, we are busy disposing of our assets in fishing thus I will not comment on anything that has to do with the fishing industry because it will soon be a thing of the past,” Kankondi said when contacted for comment.
He refused comment on how far the company has gone in disposing of its fishing assets.
“Namibia Stock Exchange (NSX) law prevents listed companies to divulge such information. It has to be done to all shareholders and stakeholders simultaneously,” Kankondi said.
Bidvest together with Namibian and South African listed and Africa’s largest fishing company, Oceana Group, are the casualties of the new government policy.
Speaking in Parliament earlier this month, Esau said since the fishing rights were exclusively meant for Namibians, it was difficult to monitor listed companies because ownership changes constantly.
Currently, Bidvest has a quota for only one of its fishing vessels, while an additional quota was purchased at great expense.
Bidvest announced plans to dispose of its fishing assets last year after government significantly cut its fishing quota.
The company’s fishing unit consists of Namsov Fishing Enterprises, Trachurus Fishing, United Fishing Enterprise, Twafika, Telelestai and Pesca Fresca.
Namsov, the main fishing company, has been getting quotas since 1997.
Namsov did not respond to questions but instead referred the Windhoek Observer to Kankondi.
Erongo Marine Enterprises, a unit of the Oceana Group, also refused comment.
“I saw your messages; I will not be responding to your questions,” Managing Director, Dr Martha Uumati told the Windhoek Observer when asked about implications of the announcement on employees and the future of the company.
Erongo Marine Enterprises is a Namibian horse mackerel fishing company operating two dedicated midwater trawlers which account for a combined annual catch of approximately 60,000 tons.
As one of the largest fishing companies in Namibia and second-largest employer in the horse mackerel industry, it enjoys joint ventures with key empowerment partners in Namibia.
The Namibian reported last month that minority shareholders in Namsov Fishing complained of being bullied into ceding control of company assets, valued at N$450 million, to Bidvest Namibia Fisheries.
It said that documents show that Bidvest Namibia Fishing wants to sell all its shares in Namsov to Tunacor Group for an undisclosed amount.
