President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has accused beneficiaries of Namibia’s fishing empowerment programme of selling off the rights entrusted to them, allowing the industry to return to the hands of established fishing companies.
Speaking at a community meeting in Swakopmund yesterday, Nandi-Ndaitwah said fishing quotas had been distributed to Namibians across the country, but the intended beneficiaries ultimately sold their interests, undermining government efforts to broaden participation in the lucrative sector.
“The fishing industry…that is one sector that was decentralized. Many rights were given to Namibians all over the country, what they did is, they sold this industry, and it went back to where we thought we didn’t want it to go back,” she said.
Her remarks come amid renewed government scrutiny of ownership, quota allocations and the extent to which ordinary Namibians actually benefit from the country’s fishing resources.
The President said the government was now moving away from individual quota allocations, arguing that dwindling fish stocks made the existing arrangement increasingly difficult to sustain.
“And where we are now, there is no enough fish to give quotas, and the quotas cannot belong to individuals, we are now bringing that to an end, so that they belong to the industry and we see how they’re moving,” she said.
She also questioned whether giving economically disadvantaged Namibians access to valuable resources necessarily translated into meaningful empowerment, warning that poverty could leave beneficiaries vulnerable to selling their assets cheaply.
“The problem we have in Namibia is that majority of the people are too poor to be given anything, even if you give them land they will just sell it cheaply and we will be back to square one again,” she said.
Her comments raised questions about the effectiveness of Namibia’s post-independence fishing empowerment programme, which sought to increase Namibian participation in an industry historically dominated by established operators.
In May 2025, fisheries minister Inge Zaamwani acknowledged concerns about vulnerable quota beneficiaries being exploited, including people listed as shareholders who allegedly received no meaningful economic benefit.
The issue also carries the shadow of the Fishrot corruption scandal, which exposed alleged manipulation of fishing rights and the diversion of millions of dollars through politically connected business interests.
The government is yet to publicly clarify the proposed new allocation model and what safeguards will ensure communities benefit.
