Niël Terblanché
IN the wake of the release from police custody of Berhard Easu, the former Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, on a technicality the Anti-Corruption Commission has been hard at work to get a new warrant of arrest issued in his name.
Easu was taken into custody on Saturday afternoon and by Sunday afternoon a High Court Judge ordered his release because of a technicality pertaining to the wording on the warrant of arrest issued by a Windhoek Magistrate on Friday.
Paulus Noa, Director General of the ACC said the organisation will definitely apply for another warrant of arrest for former fisheries minister.
Esau was arrested on Saturday along with Ricardo Gustavo who was also implicated in the fisheries corruption scandal that pertains to the misappropriation of fishing quotas to Samherji, an Icelandic multinational fishing company and the payment of at least N$150 million dollars in facilitation fees.
The scheme is estimated to have cost Namibia as much as N$2, 5 billion in revenue.
The drama in the Windhoek HighCourt follows a day after President Hage Geingob directed Dr. Albert Kawana in his capacity as acting Minister of Fisheries and Marine resources to undertake an assessment and evaluation of the existing processes and procedures relating to the management and administration of Namibia’s marine resources.
Dr. Kawana was further instructed to make recommendations to the President in order to prevent and eliminate all instances of maladministration, nepotism and corruption.
Dr. Kawana was also directed by the President to review the affairs and administration of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources and the Namibian Fishing Corporation over the last ten years, with the intent to make appropriate recommendations and in cases where he may discover instances of maladministration to take corrective measures and such legal steps as he, deems necessary.
Meanwhile all border posts have been notified to be on the lookout for Sacky Shanghala, James Hatuikulipi and Tamson Hatuikulipi with regards to execution of the outstanding warrants of arrest issued in their names.
