10 Apr 2016

Parliament has approved an urgent motion calling on government to suspend with immediate effect enforcement of the fish protection regulations of 2016.

Presenting the motion on Thursday, Chobe MP, Mr Ronald Shamukuni, said implementation of the said regulations came into effect in April 1, amid serious discomfort and concerns by the fishing communities and those living in the riparian area.

He said the fishers’ concerns revolved around lack of consultation by the relevant authorities with the affected communities.  

He said development of a national fisheries policy to map out the management aims and objectives of commercial fishing and aid general fisheries management process was long overdue, and as such, it could have helped guide the 2016 fish protection regulations.

Mr Shamukuni said the 2008 regulations had pegged the commercial fishing license fee at P200 with a validity period of three years, while the 2016 regulations prescribe a fee increase of P500 with the validity duration of the license reduced to 10 months or less; he argued that the change would drive many Batswana in to poverty.

He also complained that duplicate license fee, which rose from P100 to P500 in the new regulations constituted an unreasonably upward adjustment, while the reduction of the gill net length from 150m (2008 regulations) to only 25m in the 2016 regulations is also objectionable.

“This will have the effect of reducing catch sizes and render most of the fishing business barely viable and thus throw many into poverty and back to government safety nets,” said Mr Shamukuni.

Furthermore, he said there was no scientific evidence to justify the enforcement of these regulations.

When debating the motion, Okavango MP, Mr Bagalatia Arone said the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism was making life difficult, as such, the minister responsible should work closely with area MPs and also make adequate consultation on the issue.

Mr Arone said communities in the Chobe area were not happy with the way some of the policies were imposed on them without regard for their negative impact on their livelihoods; he therefore stressed the need consultation.

Maun East MP, Mr Kostantinos Markus said people in his area were also complaining of inadequate consultation and that there was no threat to the fish population, rather the population was high, therefore the need for breeding fell off.

Member of Parliament for Maun West, Mr Tawana Moremi also concurred with fellow MPs, saying that many pieces of legislation through the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism always affected his constituents.

Mr Moremi said consultation must be improved and that research centres in the area, affected MPs and ordinary members of the community, among others, must always be involved.

In response, the minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Mr Tshekedi Khama said the 2016 fish protection regulations, in their entirety as they appeared in government gazette, had been withdrawn.

“We have withdrawn them to fix them and to continue with additional consultation,” said Mr Khama. Ends