Walvis Bay — The fisheries ministry has allocated a horse mackerel quota to Etosha Fishing Corporation, it announced on Monday.
However, the ministry hastened to say the allocation is not a response to the recent protest by Etosha employees but forms part of the government's ongoing efforts to protect jobs linked to the collapsed pilchard industry.
The ministry's statement comes after deputy executive director Ueritjiua Kauaria on Friday, during a demonstration in Windhoek, told the protesters that Cabinet had approved a horse mackerel quota for the company.
"The quota was given to us by the Cabinet. I can assure you that the horse mackerel should be allocated to you by next Tuesday. Not pilchard, but horse mackerel, which should keep you busy in the meantime while we are sorting out the pilchard quota," Kauaria told workers.
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In a statement on Monday, ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said the process leading to the allocation had been completed before workers handed over a petition demanding fishing quotas to enable the company to resume operations.
"The process relating to the current allocation was finalised prior to the recent demonstration, with the necessary approvals having been concluded before the ministry received the petition from employees," he said.
Muyunda said the government has on several occasions facilitated access to the horse mackerel quota for Etosha since the introduction of the pilchard fishing moratorium.
He said the intervention was aimed at safeguarding employment opportunities and protecting investments that remained after commercial pilchard fishing operations came to a halt.
"As Etosha Fishing is not a rights holder in the horse mackerel fishery, any allocation requires Cabinet approval before implementation," he noted. Etosha is one of Namibia's two canning facilities.
However, it is the only one currently internationally accredited as a pilchard cannery. The company employs about 430 seasonal employees who have been struggling to make ends meet due to a lack of pilchards.
The fishery has been placed on a moratorium for almost all employees, employing about 430 seasonal workers.
Many have been without work for the past seven months because of the absence of fishing quotas since the government put a moratorium on them in 2018.
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