Fishcor ditches Seaflower arbitration talks
OGONE TLHAGE
WINDHOEK
Embattled public entity Fishcor walked out of talks with its partner African Selection Trust (AST) to settle a dispute involving the future of Seaflower Pelagic Processing.
At the centre of the dispute is Fishcor’s unwillingness to proceed with an agreement that enables Seaflower to benefit from a yearly 50 000-tonne horse mackerel quota allocation.
In court papers filed last week, Fishcor board chairperson Mihe Gaomab II expressed no interest in proceeding with arbitration, saying that disputes would be better resolved in the High Court.
“This is a complex dispute. It also involves issues of public interest. This is in the context of the Fishrot scandal and the involvement of the then minister of fisheries [Bernhardt Esau] and the then chairperson of the board of directors of Fishcor [James Hatuikulipi] as active players and alleged beneficiaries in this scandal,” Gaomab said.
Fishrot
Both Hatuikulipi and Esau will face trial in the Fishrot corruption case in the High Court in April.
Esau was able to allocate fishing quotas to Fishcor at his own discretion after the Marine Resources Act had been amended. Both had been under investigation from the Anti-Corruption Commission since 2014.
“The pending criminal proceedings and the investigation by the Namibian authorities in respect of allegations of widespread corruption in this sector of the fishing industry is a matter of wide public concern,” Gaomab said.
As part of its agreement with AST, there was leeway for any disputes to be solved by arbitration, he added.
“I am advised that the existence of an arbitration clause is not an automatic bar to legal proceedings in respect of disputes covered by the agreement,” he said.
“I submit that it would not be in the interest of justice to have the dispute determined on the narrow basis proposed by ASF by way of arbitration. An arbitrator appointed in terms of clause 22 of the shareholders agreement would have no jurisdiction over the governmental entities, who are not parties to the shareholders agreement.”
‘Parasitic’ deal
Gaomab had previously indicated in a statement that Fishcor had never benefitted from the partnership, while deputy judge president Hosea Angula described the deal between the two entities as ‘parasitic’.
Hatuikulipi, Esau, his cousin Tamson Hatuikulipi, former Fishcor CEO Mike Nghipunya and Pius Mwatelulo are alleged to have benefitted from kickbacks paid through the trust accounts of several law firms.
WINDHOEK
Embattled public entity Fishcor walked out of talks with its partner African Selection Trust (AST) to settle a dispute involving the future of Seaflower Pelagic Processing.
At the centre of the dispute is Fishcor’s unwillingness to proceed with an agreement that enables Seaflower to benefit from a yearly 50 000-tonne horse mackerel quota allocation.
In court papers filed last week, Fishcor board chairperson Mihe Gaomab II expressed no interest in proceeding with arbitration, saying that disputes would be better resolved in the High Court.
“This is a complex dispute. It also involves issues of public interest. This is in the context of the Fishrot scandal and the involvement of the then minister of fisheries [Bernhardt Esau] and the then chairperson of the board of directors of Fishcor [James Hatuikulipi] as active players and alleged beneficiaries in this scandal,” Gaomab said.
Fishrot
Both Hatuikulipi and Esau will face trial in the Fishrot corruption case in the High Court in April.
Esau was able to allocate fishing quotas to Fishcor at his own discretion after the Marine Resources Act had been amended. Both had been under investigation from the Anti-Corruption Commission since 2014.
“The pending criminal proceedings and the investigation by the Namibian authorities in respect of allegations of widespread corruption in this sector of the fishing industry is a matter of wide public concern,” Gaomab said.
As part of its agreement with AST, there was leeway for any disputes to be solved by arbitration, he added.
“I am advised that the existence of an arbitration clause is not an automatic bar to legal proceedings in respect of disputes covered by the agreement,” he said.
“I submit that it would not be in the interest of justice to have the dispute determined on the narrow basis proposed by ASF by way of arbitration. An arbitrator appointed in terms of clause 22 of the shareholders agreement would have no jurisdiction over the governmental entities, who are not parties to the shareholders agreement.”
‘Parasitic’ deal
Gaomab had previously indicated in a statement that Fishcor had never benefitted from the partnership, while deputy judge president Hosea Angula described the deal between the two entities as ‘parasitic’.
Hatuikulipi, Esau, his cousin Tamson Hatuikulipi, former Fishcor CEO Mike Nghipunya and Pius Mwatelulo are alleged to have benefitted from kickbacks paid through the trust accounts of several law firms.
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