A FISHING company based in Walvis Bay, Beluga Fishing, has invested N$70 million in two new vessels.
The deep-sea hake vessel Etosha Pan and the monkfish vessel Jonas were inaugurated by Swapo Vice President Hage Geingob at the Walvis Bay harbour. Geingob said the investment proved that local companies still had faith in the fishing industry despite the current challenges.He said there was a growing number of successful local investors building local enterprises, and this was a good indicator to foreign investors of the healthy investment climate in Namibia.The Executive Chairman of Beluga Investments, Sidney Martin, said fishing companies were the custodians of a natural resource that belonged to all Namibians.Martin said he wanted to transform the fishing industry so that the previously disadvantaged would become major players in the industry.For this reason, about 98 per cent of Beluga’s crewmembers were Namibians trained at the Namibian Maritime and Fisheries Institute (Namfi).”There is no reason why the taxpayers should have their money invested in institutions like Namfi if we don’t make use of the Namibian graduates there.We want to make use of the Namibians because they are quite able,” Martin said.Geingob said the investment proved that local companies still had faith in the fishing industry despite the current challenges.He said there was a growing number of successful local investors building local enterprises, and this was a good indicator to foreign investors of the healthy investment climate in Namibia.The Executive Chairman of Beluga Investments, Sidney Martin, said fishing companies were the custodians of a natural resource that belonged to all Namibians.Martin said he wanted to transform the fishing industry so that the previously disadvantaged would become major players in the industry.For this reason, about 98 per cent of Beluga’s crewmembers were Namibians trained at the Namibian Maritime and Fisheries Institute (Namfi).”There is no reason why the taxpayers should have their money invested in institutions like Namfi if we don’t make use of the Namibian graduates there.We want to make use of the Namibians because they are quite able,” Martin said.
