Friday, May 4, 2012

Draft Small Scale Fisheries Policy Adopted By Cabinet

Feike understands that the Small Scale Fisheries Policy was adopted by Cabinet this morning despite its blatant flaws and its substantial contradictory policy statements to the National Development Plan. 

It is increasingly apparent that we are governed by a confused and policy schizophrenic government which is able to pass one policy which is directly opposed to another. We see this with macro-economic policy as well which only leads to more and more unemployment and greater levels of inequality in our economy. 

The Small Scale Fisheries Policy seeks to allocate quotas to communities despite the fact that neither the policy nor the department (or its minister) is able to offer a cogent definition of who constitutes the "fishing community". Further, the department remains committed to implementing a policy that has been been proven to be a recipe for poverty, corruption and failure. 

The department's own pilot community quota project in Doringbaai has shown itself to be a significant failure. The community quota project made infamous by the mass fraud perpetrated by SACFC and its directors on 3000 fishers is ignored. 

The tragedy is that the Small Scale Fishing Policy will certainly result in massive corruption, fraud and ultimately poverty for coastal fishers. But we have no doubt that this policy is supported by elements in the fishing industry who cannot wait to get their snouts in the proverbial trough.  

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