Eba Kandovazu
PRESIDENT of the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), McHenry Venaani, in a damning letter to Icelanding Fishing company Samherji, demanded that the company compensates over 4,000 Namibian fishermen before closing its operations in Namibia.
The company’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, Björgólfur Jóhannsson, last Friday announced in a statement that Samherji was selling its assets in Namibia. Of these, a N$400 million vessel is included, according to local media reports.
“The process will be conducted in close dialogue with relevant authorities and in line with international standards and law,” Jóhannsson said.
Venaani noted that Namibia is losing nearly billions of dollars yearly in illicit financial outflows, base erosion, transfer pricing and corruption.
“These are resources that could have oiled our own socioeconomic development. These practices mostly go unpunished and have detriment effects on our people while those that practice these insolences continue reaping undue benefits. Whereas we are aware that this case is currently under investigation on the Namibian side, we are calling on your company conscious to underscore the need to restore the plight of Namibian fishermen that lost their income over a long period of time due to this avarice practice by your company,” Venaani said.
He added: “We are aware that your company is contemplating a process of leaving its operations in Namibia, a move that we welcome, but that falls short of the tenets of responsibility to the thousands aggrieved populace.”
Venaani is demanding that Samherji pays out to all fisherman who lost their jobs a monthly salary equal to the amount they would have earned today taking inflation into account for the years of loss of income, together with a pensionable lump sum calculated on the amount.
He further demands that the families of fishermen who committed suicide due to mental health issues relating to them losing their jobs, equally benefit from the payouts.
Samherji has been given 15 working days to respond.
Failure to do so will result in legal action, Venaani warned.
