Labour minister orders probe into fishing redress programme

Labour minister Wise Immanuel has ordered an audit of government’s fishing quota redress programme amid claims that some companies received quotas without creating jobs.

The minister has vowed to restore accountability in the sector.

The audit, undertaken in consultation with the fisheries ministry, aims to ensure a clear and accurate understanding of the sector and the redress programme.

"Going forward, we want to make sure that quotas allocated under the redress programme are assigned after we have a comprehensive understanding of what is happening in the fishing sector,” Immanuel said.

The minister’s remarks come amid growing concern over complaints from Okapare fishermen that some companies holding quotas under the redress initiative have failed to provide jobs or pay fishermen.

Answering a question in parliament about why some fishermen have not been paid, Immanuel said the workers at Okapare are assigned to various groups. The group that missed its January salary had been allocated to Walu Fishing Company, he said.

“As a matter of fact, that problem has not only been for January, it has been since October last year. From October, November and December last year, they had not gotten a salary from the company they were allocated to,” he said.

“As a result of that, a conversation took place between myself and the minister of fisheries, and an alternative was found for their salaries to be paid for October, November and December,” Immanuel added.

Questions raised

The Employment Redress Programme, spearheaded by the fisheries ministry, recently came under fire.

Walu's managing director, Erna Loch, accused government of favouring a small group of companies and individuals under the programme, while hundreds of former fishermen who were meant to benefit from the scheme remain unemployed.

Loch described the programme as “a failed promise hijacked by greed and manipulation.” She said it had not been implemented in the spirit in which it was conceived.

The ministry hit back, saying that for the current 2026 fishing season, it has no agreement with Walu and that the company is not eligible for quota allocations.

Responding to the ministry’s claims, Loch told Namibian Sun that the fisheries ministry is trying to shift blame while ignoring its own breaches of the agreement.

“The ministry was not a passive observer in the government employment redress programme; it was an active party responsible for setting the criteria, issuing allocations and approving employment numbers and was fully aware that the programme was defaulting in multiple respects,” she said.

She claimed that the criteria applied to the redress programme did not result in sustainable employment.

"On the contrary, it entrenched unemployment by issuing quota allocations late, failing to align quota with vessel availability and withdrawing licences while fishing operations were already underway. The direct consequence of these actions was operational paralysis, lost income, and hardship for fishermen, who became the ultimate victims of systemic failure."

Lock alleged that the programme, as implemented, failed to provide support to the fishermen, robbing them of a chance to earn a livelihood. She added that the programme also discouraged both local and foreign investment and contributed to economic instability within the fishing sector.

“These outcomes are incompatible with a programme purportedly designed to promote employment and social redress. Furthermore, this programme was not structured to create long-term, sustainable employment,” she said.

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