Govt sings auction praises

JEMIMA BEUKES WINDHOEKThe country’s second fishing quota auction in less than a year managed to dispose 15 948 metric tonnes of hake, raking in N$189.9 million, which includes N$40 000 in application fees.This was announced yesterday by finance ministry spokesperson Tonateni Shidhudhu, adding that government made an additional N$88 million by going to auction instead of selling at the reserve price.Shidhudhu said had the quota been sold at reserve prices, government would only have raised N$102.3 million, compared to the outcome of N$189.9 million.“Such an outcome confirms auctioning as a good mechanism to facilitate price discovery in the sector and allocate natural resources to the market,” he said.The money raised from this auction will largely go towards government’s Covid-19 recovery plan, including the procurement of much-needed Covid-19 vaccinations.“Of these funds, N$183.9 million has already been deposited into the State Revenue Fund at the Bank of Namibia and the balance of N$6 million will be settled next week,” he said.‘Noble intentions’Shidhudhu said the ministries of finance and fisheries consider the auction a success, “as shown in improved prices from the reserve price of N$6 000 to N$11 745.90 for wet hake and N$8 000 to N$12 508.50 for freezer hake”.“Finally, it should be always noted that as a government, we are conducting these auctions with noble intentions. Although the first auction did not yield the desired outcome, the results that we are announcing today is a clear demonstration of government’s seriousness and commitment to support the country’s socio-economic priorities, promote transparency and ensure that Namibia fully benefits from her natural resources.”The recently-concluded auction follows last year’s failed public bidding process where government only collected N$8.4 million from the targeted N$628 million.jemima@namibiansun.com

Govt sings auction praises

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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Govt sings auction praises

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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