Jooste makes U-turn on Seaflower
OGONE TLHAGE
WINDHOEK
Public enterprises minister Leon Jooste says he is concerned that a court process to cancel Fishcor’s partnership with African Selection Trust (AST) would both be lengthy and costly.
Fishcor and AST are joint shareholders in Seaflower Pelagic Processing.
Jooste said a protracted battle to end the partnership will yield no desirable benefit for either party.
Speaking on Namibia Media Holdings’ Kletskompas programme last week, Jooste said he hoped a court battle over the cancellation of the contract could be avoided.
This despite abruptly instructing the public entity’s board to cancel its contract last year.
“I am concerned about a protracted court process. It is costly. Again, my biggest concern is the indirect costs of the value that will not be extracted.
“I hope we can sit around the table and find a solution. It is always the preferred means for me. Before we fight, I hope we can come to a solution,” he said.
Jooste said the facility held great potential and it being dormant was to no one’s advantage.
“There is a massive investment and a massive economic opportunity that is dormant at the moment. There are job opportunities that can be created, there is tax revenue that can be collected; for the country it is important for a solution to be found,” he said.
Lasting solution
He said it was possible for both parties to reach a lasting solution that did not involve either party not benefitting.
“There are a lot of options for us to find a solution; many options of how the end-result could look like at the end of the day, to the benefit of both parties - so there is no reason why any of the parties should not have to benefit,” he said.
AST chairman Adriaan Louw welcomed Jooste’s position on the matter.
“It is correct that a dispute has been referred to arbitration and that Fishcor has brought an interim application, which application is being studied by our expert legal advisors. We reserve the right to oppose this application and believe the arbitration process to be the most time effective way to resolve the dispute,” Louw said.
Seaflower, a subsidiary of Fishcor, in turn, said it has an agreement with Fishcor which allows it to utilise a horse mackerel quota of 50 000 tonnes allocated to Fishcor every year for a period of 15 years, until the end of 2033. The value of the agreement has been placed at N$1.8 billion.
The companies have also invested N$700 million in a processing plant at the coast.
Former fisheries minister Bernhardt Esau had been able to hand the quota to Fishcor after amendments to the Marine Resources Act meant that he could allocate quotas at his own discretion.
The agreement has in the past been described by deputy judge president Hosea Angula as ‘cosy and parasitic’.
Seaflower last year unsuccessfully sued the ministries of fisheries, public enterprises and finance in an attempt to stop government from auctioning more than 24 000 metric tonnes of horse mackerel.
WINDHOEK
Public enterprises minister Leon Jooste says he is concerned that a court process to cancel Fishcor’s partnership with African Selection Trust (AST) would both be lengthy and costly.
Fishcor and AST are joint shareholders in Seaflower Pelagic Processing.
Jooste said a protracted battle to end the partnership will yield no desirable benefit for either party.
Speaking on Namibia Media Holdings’ Kletskompas programme last week, Jooste said he hoped a court battle over the cancellation of the contract could be avoided.
This despite abruptly instructing the public entity’s board to cancel its contract last year.
“I am concerned about a protracted court process. It is costly. Again, my biggest concern is the indirect costs of the value that will not be extracted.
“I hope we can sit around the table and find a solution. It is always the preferred means for me. Before we fight, I hope we can come to a solution,” he said.
Jooste said the facility held great potential and it being dormant was to no one’s advantage.
“There is a massive investment and a massive economic opportunity that is dormant at the moment. There are job opportunities that can be created, there is tax revenue that can be collected; for the country it is important for a solution to be found,” he said.
Lasting solution
He said it was possible for both parties to reach a lasting solution that did not involve either party not benefitting.
“There are a lot of options for us to find a solution; many options of how the end-result could look like at the end of the day, to the benefit of both parties - so there is no reason why any of the parties should not have to benefit,” he said.
AST chairman Adriaan Louw welcomed Jooste’s position on the matter.
“It is correct that a dispute has been referred to arbitration and that Fishcor has brought an interim application, which application is being studied by our expert legal advisors. We reserve the right to oppose this application and believe the arbitration process to be the most time effective way to resolve the dispute,” Louw said.
Seaflower, a subsidiary of Fishcor, in turn, said it has an agreement with Fishcor which allows it to utilise a horse mackerel quota of 50 000 tonnes allocated to Fishcor every year for a period of 15 years, until the end of 2033. The value of the agreement has been placed at N$1.8 billion.
The companies have also invested N$700 million in a processing plant at the coast.
Former fisheries minister Bernhardt Esau had been able to hand the quota to Fishcor after amendments to the Marine Resources Act meant that he could allocate quotas at his own discretion.
The agreement has in the past been described by deputy judge president Hosea Angula as ‘cosy and parasitic’.
Seaflower last year unsuccessfully sued the ministries of fisheries, public enterprises and finance in an attempt to stop government from auctioning more than 24 000 metric tonnes of horse mackerel.
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