Esau regrets trusting officials ‘blindly’

Former fisheries minister Bernhardt Esau told the High Court that he regrets trusting officials in his ministry blindly - an act which he says landed him in jail - but added that he is ready to tell his side of the story.

During his appearance yesterday, he said the 2015 changes to the country’s fisheries law - dubbed the ‘Esau Amendments’ - were aimed at opening up the industry to more local players and not to benefit himself, as alleged by the State.

The State claimed Esau unilaterally changed the Marine Resources Act to benefit himself and his co-accused through the Fishrot scheme.

However, the former minister countered that the amendments were sanctioned by cabinet and subsequently sailed through parliament unopposed, which - in his view - is a sign that lawmakers, both from the opposition parties and the ruling party, were in full support.

“There was no conspiracy from my side to benefit myself through these amendments, neither to benefit any other person except government and Fishcor, he said.

Esau described the amendments as a “progressive piece of legislation” because it helped “open the industry and destroy the monopoly enjoyed by Namsov and Erongo Marine Enterprises” at the time.

‘I feel betrayed’

Currently a trial-awaiting prisoner, Esau said he feels betrayed after he put his trust in his team at the ministry and particularly in the Prosecutor-General Martha Imalwa, whose appointment he was party to.

“And today, I am facing prosecution.”

He stressed that he feels betrayed that he ended up facing serious charges when his only pursuit was to do good with only good intentions and in good faith.

“I was totally flabbergasted. I kept quiet. I am not a person to speak, but if I am given the opportunity to speak like I am now given the opportunity to speak, I feel betrayed. In the sense and context when I was trying to do a good job with all good intentions, in my adoption and acceptance of what was proposed to me by the officials whom I trusted.

“The [permanent secretary] I had trust in, I trusted the directors and I trusted the people whom I appointed. I feel betrayed,” he said.

Relentless

The former trade unionist said a campaign to discredit him was relentless and even included a publication titled ‘Oshili Nashipopye’ sold as inserts in the local printed press, which were apparently aimed at tainting his image so that he would not be re-appointed as fisheries minister.

According to Esau, he was in “utter shock” when the inserts were distributed in the fisheries ministry and were handed out to a security officer on the fourth floor of the ministry.

He added: “They told me I will go to prison” after he slashed Erongo Marine Enterprises and Namsov quotas. He did not name the people who threatened him.

It wasn’t me

Esau, who finds himself embroiled in one of the biggest corruption scandals the country has ever seen, yesterday spent most of his time trying to convince the court that he did not change the Marine Resources Act unilaterally.

On the contrary, the decision to review and change the law was initiated by fisheries ministry staff and technocrats based on several challenges the legislation posed, including the fact that they were not able to allocate fishing quotas to non-right holders, he explained.

Under questioning by his legal counsel Richard Metcalfe, he said he was certainly not a lone wolf bent on changing the Act for his personal gratification.

According to him, the plan to change the law already started in 2012; however, a request to the Law Reform Development Commission gathered dust until the matter was revived in 2015.

In March 2015, the ministry held a two-day internal ministerial workshop on the marine resources legislative and in April 2015, the amendments to the Marine Resources Act were approved by cabinet.

Esau stressed that as minister, he did nothing in isolation and “consulted every step of the way”, including discussing the proposed amendments with then president Hifikepunye Pohamba and eventually presenting them to cabinet.

He added that during this process, even when he tabled the amendments in the National Assembly, no one was “[against] the amendments”.

[email protected]