Cape Town - Two government departments are to enter into an agreement that will see small-scale fishing co-operatives obtain preferential access to public works facilities such as small fishing harbours and buildings.
The preferential access will be in terms of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE).
Besides small fishing harbours, the MOA between the two departments will also cover areas such as forestry villages, expanded public works, government offices and facilities.
Speaking on Wednesday during an imbizo held in Diazville, Saldanha Bay, Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister Barbara Creecy said the MOA would solve a long-standing problem of access for small-scale fishers to public works facilities in small harbours.
“This will include facilitating small-scale co-operatives to enter into longer-term leases of up to 10 years for public works buildings,” Creecy said.
Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Sihle Zikalala said such preferential access would contribute to the growth of small harbours.
“This preferential access will enable co-operatives to invest in developing freezing, storage and processing facilities in small harbours.”
The MOA and implementation plans are expected to be finalised by the end of the second quarter of the current financial year.
The Masifundise Development Trust, which advocates for social, economic, climate and environmental justice for small-scale fishing communities, described the MOA as a positive step, but something that should have been implemented some time ago.
Carmen Mannarino, programme manager at Masifundise, said it was what fishers had been asking for.
“Having noted with positivity this memorandum of understanding that small-scale fisheries will have access to facilities at the harbours, we also want to note that getting preferential access for public work facilities without having any preferential access to actual marine resources means that fisheries aren’t being prioritised in terms of fishing rights and allocations,” she explained.
“To make it viable and meaningful for preferential access to the harbour facilities, fishers should always have preferential access to marine resources, fishing grounds.”
She added: “Fishers are feeling that they don’t have a space in the oceans.”
According to Mannarino, the timing of the signing was very much determined by election campaigning.
Meanwhile, Zikalala has announced a R24 million financial injection to save jobs and improve the efficiency of the Saldanha
Bay Harbour. Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, fishing company Sea Harvest has its main base of operations in the harbour.
The substantial financial injection will go towards repairing facilities, with Sea Harvest required to contribute double this amount.
Zikalala said he hoped the project could start as a matter of urgency to secure the more than 2 000 direct jobs created by the company.
Cape Argus