A former senior government official warns that merging Namibia’s agriculture, land reform and fisheries ministries could be a “recipe for disaster” for the sectors that contributed N$87 billion to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the past five years.
Last month, president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah announced the consolidation of the agriculture, land reform and fisheries ministries.
She appointed Mac Hengari to lead the merged ministry, making him one of the country’s most powerful ministers.
However, Hengari is currently under investigation in connection with 11 possible criminal charges, including the alleged rape of a 15-year-old teenager.
While debate continues over his personal controversies, there is a separate concern: whether the merger itself would weaken oversight and undermine effective governance in critical sectors. There are already concerns that the agriculture ministry’s suppliers have allegedly not been paid.
Former executive director of fisheries Moses Maurihungirire criticises the merger.
“If you combine agriculture and fisheries, you will dilute both performances of the two ministries . . . you will have a problem with who will be in charge of planning and human resources, because all those ministries have been there for 35 years, and they have created cultures and made inroads. Mixing them is a recipe for disaster,” he says.
He says the dominant nature of agriculture could push fisheries into the background and undermine the management and sustainability of the country’s fishing industry.
“By international experience, there are very few countries that integrate fisheries with agriculture. When you look at those countries that have those kinds of regimes, the operationality of the fishery sector is very much overshadowed because agriculture is dominant,” Maurihungirire says.
According to him, fisheries management demands a high level of expertise and this could be compromised by the merger.
“Fisheries is a very specialised kind of discipline, and you need real technocrats,” he says.
Maurihungirire says Namibia has long been recognised for its successful fisheries management model.
“The model of Namibian fisheries is so beneficial to the country, and it needs specialised attention and must be separate so that it can function optimally,” he says.
The former executive director further warns that critical issues such as illegal unreported and unregulated fishing could be neglected under the merged ministry.
In addition, Maurihungirire expresses concern over the management of the delicate balance between seal and fish populations – an issue he says requires a special approach.
According to data from the Namibia Statistics Agency, the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry employs 88 277 people.
Over the last five years, the sector has contributed over N$87.7 billion towards the country’s GDP.
The president has justified her decision to merge the ministries as a strategy to eliminate duplication, reduce expenditure and enhance the efficient implementation of the country’s development programme. Hengari himself has defended the merger, arguing that both fisheries and agriculture are key components of the food industry and are often clustered together in other countries.
“The common theme is ensuring food security for the country through increased productivity in both sectors, underpinned by increased employment opportunities,” he says.
Hengari says he plans to digitalise the ministry’s operations.
“One aspect I want to explore, in partnership with the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, is digitalisation to enhance accountability and transparency and to reduce bureaucracy,” he says.
‘OVERLOAD’
Former minister Helmut Angula, who has served in both the ministries of agriculture and fisheries, says Hengari may struggle to effectively oversee this vast and demanding portfolio.
“There are a lot of political issues the minister may not be able to address, and stakeholders don’t settle for only hearing from civil servants,” he says.
Angula says there may be significant pressure from key players in the agricultural sector.
“If you look at commercial farmers, they demand attention, and they are a very important component of the national economy.
“They lack the necessary facilities to develop their sector. There is no way the minister can just delegate his power. It will not be a good feeling,” Angula says.
He also highlights the complexities of the fisheries sector.
“You have to balance the interests of workers and investors, and most of them would like to have the minister’s direct attention. They will not settle for seeing an executive director,” he says.
IN DEFENCE
However, former minister Calle Schlettwein, who also previously headed both agriculture and fisheries portfolios, welcomes the consolidation, arguing it has historical precedence and practical advantages.
Schlettwein served as executive director of agriculture, fisheries, water and rural development from 1990 to 1991, and also in the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources from 1991 to 1993.
“The two portfolios were together immediately after independence and it worked,” he says.
“The priority of fisheries became very important because of discussions with the European Union, so it was separated, but in principle, I think it is a good thing,” he says.
Schlettwein says the international statistics community and the NSA group agriculture and fisheries together.
He says fisheries and agriculture share similarities, particularly in food production.
“It’s not a bad thing, especially since it is together with water, because fishing is nothing else but farming on water. It is a food production chain in a different medium, and there are many similarities.
“If you want to save, that’s a good thing to do,” he says.
SECTOR CONTRIBUTIONS
A total of N$2.6 billion has been made available to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform for the 2025/26 financial year.
In 2024, the industry’s contribution to GDP was N$17.8 billion.
This makes it one of the largest contributors in the primary sector after mining. Fishing and fish processing on board contributed 2.7%, equivalent to N$6.5 billion, last year.
Livestock farming, which falls under agriculture, contributed N$6.2 billion, while crop farming and forestry contributed N$5.1 billion. In terms of exports, the value of fish and other fishing products exported was N$603 million, compared to N$400 million in imports for the same sector.
In 2023, Namibia’s nominal GDP was N$227.8 billion.
The primary sector – including agriculture, forestry, fishing and mining – contributed 20.2% to Namibia’s GDP in 2023.
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