Finance minister Iipumbu Shiimi on Tuesday revealed that government had raised N$408.6 million, inclusive of N$62,000 in application fees, from 3 fish quota auctions held this year.
The auctions were held as follow:
- Hake: a total of 15,948 Metric Tons (MT) of Hake were auctioned on 18 June 2021 raising a total of N$189.8 million.
- Horse Mackerel: a total of 87,500 Metric Tons (MT) of Horse Mackerel were auctioned on 18 June 2021 raising a total of N$128.6 million.
- Monk: a total of 392 Metric Tons (MT) of Monk were auctioned on 27 August 2021 raising a total of N$4.3 million.
He said a residual balance of 27,300 MT of the Horse Mackerel which had remained unallocated due to poor demand at the auction held in June, is what was sold to the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“The Government of DRC has successfully settled their financial obligations of N$85.7 million on 07 October 2021. As normal auction rules dictate, the quota was sold at the average price of the auction for Horse Mackerel. This approach, increased the total metric tons for Horse Mackerel from 60,200 metric tons originally sold on auction to a full allocation of 87,200 metric tons at N$214,350,448,” he said.
“The proceeds from the auction will fund the government priorities, especially in the health sector.”