Thousands put hope in fishing
A scurry for company registrations ensued ahead of the deadline for fishing rights applications, which closed on Friday.
The Business and Intellectual Property Authority (Bipa), the government agency registering companies, saw an unheard-of spike in registrations of companies towards the end of last week, as hopeful Namibians scurried to make Friday's deadline for fishing rights applications.
Bipa's spokesperson, Ockert Jansen, said long queues had lined up since last Wednesday in a last-minute rush to get companies registered.
Meanwhile, frustrated members of the public have complained about bottlenecks at Bipa.
Jansen said with the unprecedented influx of applications for registration, the lines at times got congested.
“We have received more applications than Bipa can cope with. We have not been able to register all companies but we have been in contact with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources to inform it of the backlog we are currently experiencing,” Jansen said last Thursday.
He said applicants that registered companies before the deadline for fishing rights would receive letters from Bipa, which they could attach to their fishing rights applications.
These letters attest to the fact that applications were received on time and that the founding documents will be transmitted directly to the fisheries ministry upon approval of fishing rights applications.
“Registering a company is a process. It normally takes about three to five days to register a close corporation but due to the influx our turnaround period takes longer,” Jansen said.
Although it has not yet been ascertained how many applications for registration of companies relate to fishing rights applications, Bipa experienced a 40% to 50% increase month-on-month.
On average around 3 000 applications are received by Bipa per month.
Between June and August it received a total of 26 911 applications to have companies registered.
That translates into 4 411 for May, 6 776 in June, 7 384 in July and a whopping 8 340 in August.
Jansen said most applications were to register Ptys, which takes longer due to the legalities involved.
The fisheries ministry announced in May that all Namibians could apply for the available 96 fishing rights in nine fishery subsectors. When it first made the announcement, the ministry said the deadline for applications would be the end of July.
It announced that all applicants should have a registered Pty Ltd company or be a member of one. The requirements further stipulated that applicants should have a fishing vessel.
However, while announcing the extension of the deadline last month, fisheries minister Bernhardt Esau, capitulated under increasing pressure regarding the Pty Ltd stipulation.
He said people owning companies, close corporations and trusts, as well as natural persons, would now be eligible for fishing rights, but would be required to convert to a proprietary limited company “before the issuance of fishing rights”.
Open up
Days before the deadline, the Namibia Informal Sector Organisation (NISO) said while it welcomed the fishing ministry's invitation to the Namibian population, many aspiring rights holders were confronted with monumental costs to have companies registered.
It said this was compounded by the general ignorance of challenges in the fishing industry.
NISO said the fisheries ministry should review the practicality of its stated vision to have more participation by ordinary Namibians in the sector.
“We have in mind representative bodies such as civil society organisations, business organisations or chambers, corporate companies, employers' federations,” said NISO secretary-general Veripi Kandenge.
Kandenge also proposed “workers' protective trusts”, which he said would be ideally funded through contributions from all rights holders.
NISO also asked for a further extension of the deadline for applications.
Fisheries ministry spokesperson De Wet Siluka said last week he was not aware of any requests for another extension of the deadline.
Siluka said most applications were submitted in Windhoek, while other regions were relatively quiet. At the time he was unable to give an indication of the number of applications the ministry had received.
CATHERINE SASMAN
Bipa's spokesperson, Ockert Jansen, said long queues had lined up since last Wednesday in a last-minute rush to get companies registered.
Meanwhile, frustrated members of the public have complained about bottlenecks at Bipa.
Jansen said with the unprecedented influx of applications for registration, the lines at times got congested.
“We have received more applications than Bipa can cope with. We have not been able to register all companies but we have been in contact with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources to inform it of the backlog we are currently experiencing,” Jansen said last Thursday.
He said applicants that registered companies before the deadline for fishing rights would receive letters from Bipa, which they could attach to their fishing rights applications.
These letters attest to the fact that applications were received on time and that the founding documents will be transmitted directly to the fisheries ministry upon approval of fishing rights applications.
“Registering a company is a process. It normally takes about three to five days to register a close corporation but due to the influx our turnaround period takes longer,” Jansen said.
Although it has not yet been ascertained how many applications for registration of companies relate to fishing rights applications, Bipa experienced a 40% to 50% increase month-on-month.
On average around 3 000 applications are received by Bipa per month.
Between June and August it received a total of 26 911 applications to have companies registered.
That translates into 4 411 for May, 6 776 in June, 7 384 in July and a whopping 8 340 in August.
Jansen said most applications were to register Ptys, which takes longer due to the legalities involved.
The fisheries ministry announced in May that all Namibians could apply for the available 96 fishing rights in nine fishery subsectors. When it first made the announcement, the ministry said the deadline for applications would be the end of July.
It announced that all applicants should have a registered Pty Ltd company or be a member of one. The requirements further stipulated that applicants should have a fishing vessel.
However, while announcing the extension of the deadline last month, fisheries minister Bernhardt Esau, capitulated under increasing pressure regarding the Pty Ltd stipulation.
He said people owning companies, close corporations and trusts, as well as natural persons, would now be eligible for fishing rights, but would be required to convert to a proprietary limited company “before the issuance of fishing rights”.
Open up
Days before the deadline, the Namibia Informal Sector Organisation (NISO) said while it welcomed the fishing ministry's invitation to the Namibian population, many aspiring rights holders were confronted with monumental costs to have companies registered.
It said this was compounded by the general ignorance of challenges in the fishing industry.
NISO said the fisheries ministry should review the practicality of its stated vision to have more participation by ordinary Namibians in the sector.
“We have in mind representative bodies such as civil society organisations, business organisations or chambers, corporate companies, employers' federations,” said NISO secretary-general Veripi Kandenge.
Kandenge also proposed “workers' protective trusts”, which he said would be ideally funded through contributions from all rights holders.
NISO also asked for a further extension of the deadline for applications.
Fisheries ministry spokesperson De Wet Siluka said last week he was not aware of any requests for another extension of the deadline.
Siluka said most applications were submitted in Windhoek, while other regions were relatively quiet. At the time he was unable to give an indication of the number of applications the ministry had received.
CATHERINE SASMAN
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