Andrew Kathindi
The Ministry of Finance together with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources are expected to raise around N$105 million in a new round of governmental objective fishing quotas auctions.
The auction, which is meant to raise revenue for Government expenditure with a deadline for the 16th of April, has set a minimum price of N$6,000 per metric tonne.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the bids will be placed on 11,164 metric tonnes of Wet Hake and 4,784 metric tonnes of Freezer Hake, both of which are targeted at 50 percent for Namibians, and the remaining 50 percent for non-Namibians.
Bids according to the ministry must be in multiples of 100 metric tonne, and bidding entities should quote a price to the nearest two decimal places.
“Allotment of the bids will be determined by the Ministry of Finance as soon as possible following the closure time of the auction. Quota will be allocated to the highest bidders at their bid-price, descending from highest to lowest, until the full 11,164 MT have been allocated, or the reserve price has been reached,” a statement issued by Finance Ministry Executive Director, Ericah Shafudah, reads.
“Bidders that submit bids below the lowest clearing price or the reserve price, will be deemed unsuccessful. Should there be multiple bidders at the lowest clearing price, these bidders will receive a pro-rata allocation.”
These comes as the Government only managed to raise a paltry N$8.4 million in its first auction last year from initial bids valued at N$627.9million.
“Each bidder shall furnish a Bid Security Deposit equal to the Reserve Price per MT multiplied by the Volume of MT applied for. The deposit is payable into the State Account ACC 165000 at the Bank of Namibia and the respective proof of payment for the bid security deposit should accompany the bid submission.”
The Bid Security Deposit is non-refundable for successful bidders and will be netted against the total amount payable for the quota awarded and comes after Finance Minister, Iipumbu Shiimi, had said that punitive measures will be introduced for future auctions, including requirements for payment guarantees or bid securities before participation in the auction, after Government had struggled to collect the N$627.9 million from previous successful bidders.
“Each bidder shall furnish a Bank Guarantee equal to their Bid Price per MT multiplied by the Volume of MT applied for. The guarantee must be issued by a local banking institution licensed by the Bank of Namibia. This will ensure that bidders meet their financial commitments and mitigate the risk of speculative bids. In addition, more time will be given to bidders to arrange their finances. Further, bidders will be required to prove that they have access to fishing vessels,” Shiimi had said.
The fishing period for successful bidders will commence upon issuance of quota by the Fisheries minister and ends on the 30th of September.
The announcement of the auction comes as Shiimi had noted that funds generated from the auction are needed to support the socio-economic objectives of the country such as the provision of serviced land, housing, health, and education.
