Namibia earns N$1billion from fish quota auctions

Staff Reporter

In the past five years, the government has earned more than N$944 million from selling fishing quotas to the highest bidder, a system born out of the Fishrot corruption scandal but now at the centre of an industry dispute.

Figures obtained by Namibia Business Review from the Ministry of Finance show the revenue includes proceeds from quota sales and application fees.

Government figures show that the auctions have brought in N$106.6 million so far in 2025, N$44.44 million in 2024, N$110.19 million in 2023, and N$116.55 million in 2022. Earnings vary depending on how many auctions are held in a given year.

Despite already earning N$106.6 million in 2025, the government has advertised more fishing quotas for sale.

“The Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform hereby jointly invite bidders to bid 1 000 metric tons of monk freezer fish,” the advert that closed on 25 July said.

Since the quotas are highly sought-after, the government also makes money from application fees.

Bids should be accompanied by proof of payment of a non-refundable  N$1 000 administration fee. 

FROM FISHROT TO AUCTIONS

The auction system was introduced in 2020, a year after the Fishrot scandal exposed how politically connected elites benefited from secretive and preferential quota allocations. Former fisheries minister Bernhard Esau, ex-attorney general Sacky Shanghala, and former Investec Asset Management Namibia boss James Hatuikulipi are accused of using the government objective quota to divert over N$300 million from the state.

In 2017, Esau allocated N$44 million from this quota to Swapo through the state-owned National Fishing Corporation of Namibia (Fishcor). Today, Esau, Shanghala, Hatuikulipi, and others have been in custody since 2019, awaiting trial.

To prevent similar abuses, the government decided to sell the government objective quota on the open market instead of hand-picking companies close to the minister. Species such as horse mackerel, hake, and monk freezer fish are auctioned to the highest bidder.

A DIVISIVE SYSTEM

While the government wants to expand the auctions, industry leaders say the practice undermines the Marine Resources Act, discourages long-term investment, and disadvantages Namibian quota holders.

Confederation of Namibian Fishing Associations chairperson Matti Amukwa called the auctions “legally questionable” and accused them of “distorting the industry”.

“The Marine Resources Act is very clear on the provisions for governmental objectives,” Amukwa said. “You can’t, for example, auction quotas to build a classroom when that function already falls under the education ministry. Quotas should only be auctioned for emergencies, not as a routine practice that doesn’t even benefit Namibians.”

SUPPORTERS SEE BIG RETURNS

Former finance minister, now member of parliament,  Iipumbu Shiimi disagrees. In an opinion piece in The Namibian in June, he argued that auctions generate significant funds for public programmes in health, education and social welfare.

Shiimi said a 2021 auction raised N$567 million from less than 10% of the total allowable catch (TAC), compared to N$237 million from fishing levies on the other 90%.

“Increasing the quantity of the government objective quota helps improve the benefits Namibians derive from this natural resource,” he said.

In 2024, the Cabinet approved a policy to guide the use of auction proceeds, identifying priority sectors including education, health, housing, and veterans’ welfare.

The first auction in 2020 failed after many bidders could not pay, and major fishing companies stayed away due to unfamiliar upfront payment rules. In 2021, the government tightened the process by introducing deposits, financial guarantees, and holding auctions earlier in the fishing season. Shiimi said advice was sought from De Beers and an Oxford University professor on the auction design.

HOW QUOTAS ARE ALLOCATED

The Executive Director of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform, Ndiyakupi Nghituwamata, explained that quotas are divided into two categories, commercial and non-commercial. 

The auctioned quotas fall under the non-commercial category, administered by the Ministry of Finance.

“The ministry is of the view that the fisheries management system in place is one of the few successful fisheries management systems in the world. However, we are constantly looking for ways to further improve the long-term sustainability of marine resources and the economic benefits to Namibians,” she says.

Nghituwamata adds that fishing rights also aim to advance Namibians disadvantaged by past discriminatory laws and to ensure that marginalised communities benefit from the country’s marine resources.