Andrew Kathindi
Public Enterprise Minister, Leon Jooste has said that the process of recruiting a new Namibia Fish Consumption Promotion Trust (NFCPT) Board has been derailed by COVID-19.
“The process to identify the candidates is ongoing. The entity has not been operating as a result of COVID-19 and the pandemic has also affected our program to recruit,” he told Windhoek Observer.
This comes after the terms of the last Board, which served from 2017 lapsed in September 2019. The board was chaired by Suzan Ndjaleka.
NFCPT was established with a mandate to promote fish consumption throughout the country, through the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources.
The company’s main products are horse mackerel and hake which it receives from the government through a quota allocation by the fisheries ministry.
According to media reports, fisheries minister Albert Kawana referred the affairs of NFCPT to Jooste. He said that laws need to be changed so that Ministry of Public Enterprises (MPE) can see to the appointment of a new Board.
Currently, the Trust is not a commercial state-owned enterprise that resides under the MPE.
Currently, NFCPT owns and operates 17 fish shops in 13 of Namibia’s 14 Regions – Erongo, Khomas, //Karas, Hardarp, Omaheke, Kunene, Oshikoto, Oshana, Omusati, Ohangwena, Kavango West, Kavango East, and Zambezi. It has 149 staff.
