Fisheries Complaint met with Silence: Has the DA Sold Out?
Fisheries Complaint met with Silence: Has the DA Sold Out?: If ever there was a department in serious need of a complete overhaul, Fisheries would be it.
For many years, the department has been plagued by confirmed cases of serious corruption
and administrative inefficiency. The majority of legal fishers are struggling to make a living, while
much of our fishing resource has become severely depleted. Paper quotas dominate many
sectors, and politically connected companies appear to receive the lion’s share of allocations.
Enforcement has been ineffective, suggestions for improvement have often been ignored, and in
many cases the illegal fishery is believed to be far larger than the legal one.
The fact that the department has financed much of its administration through the sale of
confiscated abalone, reportedly worth more than a billion rand over time, also deserves
mention.
Few things illustrate bureaucratic thinking more clearly than the vast discrepancy between what
highly paid officials earn and what they expect fishers to survive on. The result is a system that
increasingly serves administrators rather than the communities and individuals who depend on
the resource for their livelihoods.
Following the last election, control of certain state departments was handed to parties outside
the ANC. The Department of Correctional Services deserves special mention, with the Freedom
Front Plus demonstrating how quickly significant improvements can be achieved when there is
political will and effective leadership.
When the DA took over the fisheries portfolio, it was presented with the perfect opportunity to
demonstrate how much better it could perform than the ANC. I would love to report here about
the amazing turnaround under new management, but it would be a lie. While there is much that
could be done, it appears that very little has changed. The department continues to pursue
many of the same policies that have contributed to resource depletion and poverty, overseen
largely by the same officials. Then, when Dion George began speaking about reform, he was
summarily removed from the position.
The recent complaint submitted to his successor, Minister Willie Aucamp, which was ignored at every level.
COMPLAINT — WILL MINISTER RESPOND
This only confirms what has become increasingly apparent. Complaints concerning the DA on a variety of
issues have likewise been met with silence.
Furthermore, fisheries now appears to be a portfolio passed around like a hot potato among DA
ministers, with David Maynier becoming the third minister responsible for the department in less
than two years.
John Steenhuisen has also lost his position as Minister of Agriculture following a period of
controversy surrounding the foot-and-mouth disease crisis, although the DA has not publicly
stated its reasons for the reshuffle.
Despite the party’s frequent claims of efficiency and good governance, it appears to be
struggling to maintain continuity in its ministerial appointments. While the DA was allocated only
two ministries, it has already cycled through five ministers, raising questions about stability and
long-term accountability.
I would like to remind the reader of the National Party, which, despite being regarded as the
official opposition to the ANC for many years, ultimately disappeared as an independent political
force and dissolved in 2005. Many of its supporters subsequently moved to the DA. In fact, this
was a pivotal moment for the DA, after which it came to be widely regarded as the principal
opposition to the ANC. As a side note, it should be remembered that, for many voters, the DA
was not necessarily the first choice, but rather the best remaining option after the National
Party’s collapse.
Now consider the possibility that something similar has occurred through the Government of
National Unity, without the public being fully informed of it. It has not gone unnoticed that the
DA’s policies appear to be moving closer to those of the ANC, while many of the party’s original
leaders and prominent figures have departed.
South Africans need to seriously consider whether the DA can still be regarded as the official
opposition to corruption, inefficiency, and the ANC—or whether it has become part of the very
establishment it once promised to challenge.
Anton Kruger
Sardines and Sighting Maps
Here are the links to existing and past Sardine Sighting Maps. With instructions on how to install The Sardine News right on your phone, tablet, or even desktop.
YouTube Channels
Brucifire Surf Retorts – highly entertaining surf reporting
Master Watermen – news from way down deep
The Sardine News – neva miss a single sardine
FishBazaruto – 1000 pounds plus
MYDO Tackle Talk – highly technical sport fishing
Surf Launching Southern Africa – getting out there safely
Water Woes – complain about your municipality here
Websites
umzimkulu.co.za – fishing, charters, accommodation
umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za – will get you right out and onto the edge
thesardine.co.za – never miss a single sardine
masterwatermen.co.za – news from under water
fishbazaruto.com – dreams are out there
brucifire.co.za – surf retorts
fishmad.co.za – destination Madagascar
andantelodge.co.za – Transit luxury in Pretoria
destinycottage.co.za – Mbotyi dreams
