Minister Abraham Iyambo said that the partial closure of Blue Ocean Products is jeopardising the livelihood of up to 190 of its workers.
He also said that the workers are stuck in the middle of cross fire between the company’s shareholders and the South African based funder the Oceana Group. “Whatever happens to Blue Ocean, we as a government have to make sure that the workers do not end up on the street,” Abraham Iyambo told New Ira.
This is just the latest problem to have hit the Namibian fishing sector in recent months. High fuel costs, export reductions and the strong local currency have prompted rumours of massive closures. Despite the panic the Fisheries Minister claimed that companies were dealing well with the crisis.
Luis Barreras, managing director of the Tunacor Group, which was thought to be on the verge of bankruptcy, denied the rumours. He said: “The company is in the process of redesigning the production lines in order to fulfil the demands of the international markets, which are now totally different and much more demanding.” He added that although the company was not planning on any layoffs he had called on employees, union, government, and shareholders to provide their full support to weather the crisis. Abraham Iyambo said the fishing industry is experiencing a ‘temporary hiccup’ due to the high exchange rate, which had hit all export industries.
He added that since 98 per cent of the nation’s fish (600,000 tonnes) was exported to the European Union (EU), Namibia’s main concern was the Euro. The country’s marine resources are in optimal shape according to the Minister, who believes that had it not been for the exchange rate harvests would have been phenomenal. He went on to encourage companies to tap into new markets such as China and Latin America and claimed the current ‘hiccup’ should act as a ‘wake-up’ call for the industry.
