Minister Iyambo says fish stocks not to blame for industry woes

THE closure of fishing factories and the retrenchment of workers is not related to the situation of the country’s fish stocks, Fisheries Minister Abraham Iyambo said yesterday.

The Minister told Namibia’s Heads of Mission, currently all gathering in Windhoek, that in fact the stocks were in a very healthy state and the environmental conditions favourable for the population to grow even more. Currently the total fish landings average between 500 000 and 600 000 tonnes per year.But Iyambo said an unfavourable exchange rate and relatively “flat” markets were a major contributing factor to the poor performance of fishing companies.Further high operational costs such as fuel, electricity and port fees for aged vessels were all playing a role in the performance of the fishing industry.He was asked to explain why labour relations in the fishing industry were so volatile, with ambassadors and high commissioners saying the situation did not bode well for the investment climate.”We are human beings, but we are dealing with that,” was Iyambo’s diplomatic response to the labour situation within the fishing industry.Iyambo said because land and sea workers were represented by different unions, it often caused friction when it came to the negotiation of salary increases and other benefits.He said Government and the union had been able to negotiate for the reinstatement of many retrenched workers albeit at lower salaries.Companies he said had pledged to review their financial position every three months to see if their salaries could be increased.Iyambo said the industry had the potential to employ even more workers if it could expand to include value-addition operations, secondary industries and by expanding markets beyond the region and the EU to countries such as China.Local banks Iyambo maintained, were also reluctant to provide start-up culture for the industry (especially for aquaculture), further hindering the amount of people that could be employed in the industry.Taking into consideration the recent lay-offs, the industry still provides around 13 000 direct jobs.Currently the total fish landings average between 500 000 and 600 000 tonnes per year.But Iyambo said an unfavourable exchange rate and relatively “flat” markets were a major contributing factor to the poor performance of fishing companies.Further high operational costs such as fuel, electricity and port fees for aged vessels were all playing a role in the performance of the fishing industry.He was asked to explain why labour relations in the fishing industry were so volatile, with ambassadors and high commissioners saying the situation did not bode well for the investment climate.”We are human beings, but we are dealing with that,” was Iyambo’s diplomatic response to the labour situation within the fishing industry.Iyambo said because land and sea workers were represented by different unions, it often caused friction when it came to the negotiation of salary increases and other benefits.He said Government and the union had been able to negotiate for the reinstatement of many retrenched workers albeit at lower salaries.Companies he said had pledged to review their financial position every three months to see if their salaries could be increased.Iyambo said the industry had the potential to employ even more workers if it could expand to include value-addition operations, secondary industries and by expanding markets beyond the region and the EU to countries such as China.Local banks Iyambo maintained, were also reluctant to provide start-up culture for the industry (especially for aquaculture), further hindering the amount of people that could be employed in the industry.Taking into consideration the recent lay-offs, the industry still provides around 13 000 direct jobs.