Fishing Quota Netted N$44 Million For SWAPO

A HORSE mackerel quota which former minister of fisheries and marine resources Bernhard Esau allocated to Swapo through the National Fishing Corporation of Namibia (Fishcor) in 2017 earned the party N$44 million.

This is according to testimony heard in the Windhoek High Court yesterday.

Testifying in a bail hearing that started on Tuesday, former Fishcor chief executive officer Mike Nghipunya told judge Shafimana Ueitele a horse mackerel quota of 18 800 tonnes was allocated to Swapo by the then fisheries minister for an election campaign of the party in 2017.

Nghipunya said the fishing quota was allocated to Swapo through Fishcor, and after the quota had been sold to the company Karee Investments 180, N$44 million was paid to the party through accounts of the law firms Sisa Namandje & Co and De Klerk Horn Coetzee Incorporated.

He further said Esau explained that “for sensitivity” the quota had to be recorded as an allocation for “governmental objectives”.

A firm of accountants which audited Fishcor’s financial records, including quotas allocated through the state-owned company to third parties, included the quota under a heading reading ‘Governmental Objectives · Swapo Party’ in an audit report done for Fishcor for its 2016/17 financial year.

The auditors also recorded that the quota had been “sold to Karee Investments and they paid directly to the beneficiary”.

Nghipunya said it was explained to Fishcor’s auditors that the quota allocation was meant for Swapo’s presidential campaign.

In November 2017, Swapo held an elective congress at which president Hage Geingob was elected as leader of the party.

Nghipunya told the court that when fishing quotas were allocated for “governmental objectives” under the Marine Resources Act, the fisheries ministry communicated to Fishcor who the beneficiaries of such quotas were, and also where payments of proceeds from those quotas had to be made to.

It was Fishcor’s job to sell quotas allocated for “governmental objectives” and to pay the proceeds to the quota beneficiaries, he said.

During the Anti-Corruption Commission’s investigation of the Fishrot fraud and corruption case, in which Nghipunya is facing charges, the ACC relied on a report produced by the auditing firm Deloitte, which had probed Fishcor’s financial records.

In its report, Deloitte recorded payments made by the Icelandic fishing company group Samherji to other parties in respect of quota-usage agreements with Fishcor.

The first of those payments was in an amount of N$5 million, which was paid into an account of Sisa Namandje & Co on 28 August 2017, and was described as ‘Government Objective’ on the firm’s bank account, Deloitte reported.

The Samherji group also made 17 payments, totalling N$75,6 million, to a bank account of De Klerk Horn Coetzee Inc (DHC) from 4 August 2017 to 14 November 2018, the auditing firm recorded.

Sixteen of those payments, totalling N$61,6 million, were described as ‘Government Objective’ in the law firm’s account records.

Seven of those payments, adding up to an amount of N$25 million, were made during the period from 1 September to 23 October 2017.

An earlier payment of N$14 million had also been made to an account of DHC on 4 August 2017.

Nghipunya said a total amount of N$44 million raised through the horse mackerel quota of 18 800 tonnes allocated to Swapo was paid to the party through the two law firms’ accounts.

He further testified that all payments made for quotas allocated to Fishcor and through the company to third parties were accounted for, and no money was missing from those transactions.

“There was no money missing, unaccounted for, as alleged by the state,” Nghipunya said.

Claims that money went missing in respect of quota-usage agreements between Fishcor and other entities were “unfounded” and were the result of a misunderstanding of Fishcor’s operations with regard to quotas allocated to it and to other recipients through the company, Nghipunya stated.

The bail hearing is continuing.

By Namibian.