14 FEBRUARY 2014
NAMIB TIMES
3
Experienced maritime officers without work Jade McClune Word among sea-going personnel is that in future there will have to be at least one Namibian officer for every foreign officer on board vessels fishing in Namibian waters. An officers' union, consisting of at least 10 captains, has been in negotiations with the government and industry leaders about the concerns of Namibian captains and officers, many of whom have been stranded without work for years. The officers are aggrieved that vessels fishing in Namibian waters continue to use foreign captains, apparently at the expense of qualified local people. Mr Percy Rinquest, who has been spearheading the formation of the Skippers' Union, said a significant number of officers graduate from the Namibia Maritime and Fishing Institute (NAMFI) every year, but many of them end up without work.
His group has now been registered and intends to take up these concerns with the government and local employers. He says that they will first have to set up the basic office and communication infrastructure though, before they can take on bigger tasks. Another experienced skipper who has been out of work for a number of years, also asked why scores of new officers are being trained every year, while there are many experienced maritime officers sitting at home without jobs. He supported the move towards a “one-to-one policy” for foreign and local officers. The Namibia Maritime and Fishing Institute (NAMFI) said though that they are not aware of
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any regulations or moves towards implementing a “one-to-one policy” for foreign and Namibian officers at sea, a spokesperson said yesterday. The NAMFI spokesperson explained that although the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources has a policy of “Namibianisation of the fleet to the highest level”, he could not confirm whether any such 'one-to-one' employment policy is under discussion. NAMFI also said they cannot release any statistics about the number of graduates they produce annually without the prior approval of their director, who happens to be in Cape Town at the moment. Regarding the number of Namibian officers on vessels in Namibian waters, Mr Patrick Silesebo of the Department of Safety and Inspections in the Directorate of Maritime Affairs said that “It all depends on the manning requirements of the vessel and the local capacity.” He was also not aware of any new regulations limiting the number of foreign officers allowed on vessels in local waters. Asked for comment, Mr Rinquest said that according to an informal survey conducted by his group there are more than 800 qualified maritime officers at the coast and many of these are jobless at present. The officers' association has been in negotiation with the Ministry of Fisheries over the problem of the high levels of joblessness among seagoing personnel at the coast, as well as possible quota allocations for local fishermen, he said. Mr Rinquest appealed to local fishing companies and rights holders to assist the officers' association with donations to help them set up their office in Walvis Bay. A further meeting between the skippers' association and the ministry, scheduled for April, is expected to produce tangible results.
READY TO SERVE: De Duine Secondary school introduced members of their Learners Representatives Committee (LRC) recently. The primary goal of the LRC for 2014 is to bring the school's discipline to a high standard. Many times people judge a school by the behaviour of only a few individuals. The LRC foresee a better De Duine, derived from the fact that they are determined to work together as a team. They are determined to change the attitude of the learners and by so doing, will make a difference at school specifically and the community at large. The theme for the year is, “Acquire a habit of striving for success and success will become a habit”. According to members of the LRC best things happen to those who know how to make the best of how things work out. LRC 2014 : Head girl: Izane Van der Schuur. Head boy: Pius Samuel. Deputy Head girl: Arlete Sambiliye. Deputy Head boy: Brandon Möller. Executive Members: Lemaine Oswald, Mauricio Scholtz, Amber Strauss, Borris Garosab, Kavena Quita, Geoff Möller, Innocent Kisting, Menelie Keis, Francis Uatema, Letishia Jacobs, Nathan Prins, Luzandre Brendell, Brandon Van Wyk, Lufrancia Vries, Gregory Mushindi, Megan Landsberg, Brandon Honeb, Abby Lee Stramis, Innocent Ruiters, Jesmaine Slamat, Geandre Akwena, Monique Stuart, Annunzio Christians, Courtney Bandi, Enrico Ramothibe, Esther Rios, Joachim Shilongo, Pombili Enasiu, Neumbo Erickson, Liandon Coetzee and Mario Shikuta.
Swakopmund does have a heart Last Saturday residents of Swakopmund made history by taking part in the first nationwide “Walk for the love of dogs” hosted by the Have-a-Heart Project. The Walk for the love of dogs was a fantastic success. A whopping 68 people with 68 dogs took part in our fun walk for dogs! From the smallest dog to the biggest dog you have ever seen. Even puppies joined in on the fun. Participants without a canine companion also took part, and each dog entered received a complimentary bandanna. The dogs had a blast getting to know other doggies! Tails were wagging with joy all over the place. The towns who participated in this event were Swakopmund, Windhoek, Outjo, Grootfontein and Lüderitz on 8 February and Otjiwarongo and Tsumeb will be follow on 15 February. The Havea-Heart Project provides the opportunity for dog and cat owners in low- and no income communities to have their pets spayed and neutered for free. In that way the overpopulation and quantity of stray animals in the streets can be controlled in a different way to putting them down. For more information about the Have-a-Heart project, please visit our website at www.have-aheartspayandneuterproject.com.
Enjoying the walk
Around 60 appointed dog and cat owners will be able to make use of this wonderful opportunity on the 2nd and 3rd of May 2014 during The Have-aHeart Project's nationwide “Spayathon”. The funds raised by the wonderful attendance of the Swakopmund community at the Walk for the love of dogs will be put to use during this spayathon. Other ways that the project are raising funds are to sell t-shirts and raffle tickets. These can be purchased from Lynn at the West Coast Radio office. The organisers expressed their gratitude to everybody who helped to raise funds for the less privileged, all the dogs who supported their owners in the walk, Namib Films who sponsored water for all 2 and 4 legged buddies and West Coast FM. The Have-a-heart Foundation is a non-profit organisation registered with the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Namibia, offering free spay and neuter services and vaccinations for animals in low income communities, mostly townships. The project started in Outjo and is looking to expand to Otjiwarongo, Kalkfeld, Windhoek and Rehoboth in September 2013. Every animal has the right to a happy and healthy life and that being poor or living in Africa is not an excuse for leaving animals to suffer. One of the main aims of the project is to make a difference in the amount of stray animals on the streets of the townships. Stray animals are a public nuisance, soiling parks and streets, ruining shrubbery, creating noise and other disturbances. As a potential source of rabies and other less serious diseases, they are a public health hazard. The goals for this foundation are to help advance public education in all aspects of animal care and protection. To help convince as many responsible owners to spay and neuter their pets that we possibly can. To help provide needy animals with necessary treatment and care. To help the Outjo Municipality re-install the license system and maintain this system.