Hertta-Maria Amutenja
The Lüderitz Crayfish Festival is facing tensions behind the scenes as the Crayfish Festival Trust is accusing the Lüderitz Town Council of withholding vital fishing quota funds. The Trust claims this has disrupted the festival’s preparations and operations.
The 18th edition of the Lüderitz Crayfish Festival began on Tuesday and will run until Monday, 5 May.
The event, under the theme “Safeguarding our Ocean Riches”, celebrates the town’s maritime culture and features seafood dishes. But the Crayfish Festival Trust and the Town Council are at odds over financial matters, with both sides accusing the other of failing in their duties.
The Trust issued a statement saying, “Despite our efforts to cooperate and fulfil the conditions set by the Council, the funds have still not been disbursed. The Trust views this as a deliberate attempt to undermine the success of the Festival and its objectives.”
The Trust added that it had complied with all requests for financial reporting and governance documentation.
“We remain committed to transparency and accountability, yet the Council continues to create obstacles,” the statement said.
In response to the ongoing dispute, the Trust appealed to the community for patience.
“We call on the community and stakeholders to remain calm and continue supporting the Crayfish Festival. We believe that unity and dialogue will prevail over division,” it stated.
Lüderitz mayor and festival trustee, Phil Balhao, addressed the issue on Facebook, confirming he had been removed from all official festival programmes.
“I have been instructed by the chairperson of the Crayfish Festival Board of Trustees, Alex Gawanab, that I have been removed from all programmes for this year’s event,” he said.
Balhao claimed the dispute centres on unresolved financial audits and transparency issues.
“The Lüderitz Town Council, as the custodian of the Crayfish Festival, has been deadlocked in an ongoing dispute regarding the validity and financial accounting of previous festivals,” he wrote.
Balhao explained that the Council’s decision to withhold the funds stems from pending issues that need resolution.
“This has led to the Council withholding the transfer of funds to the Board until these pending matters have been resolved and overcome with a clear way forward,” he added.
Balhao also mentioned that three councillors are facing legal threats, but emphasised that the Council is open to finding a long-term solution.
“We actually welcome finding a final and lasting solution through any means, as long as there is no more confusion moving forward in the years to come,” he wrote.
In his post, Balhao criticised the Trust’s version of events and announced that a public meeting will be held soon to address the matter.
“We will have a public meeting soon to share our motivation with our community within the coming month. Then you can make your minds up,” he wrote.
Balhao later clarified in response to questions that he is not involved in this year’s festival and was only briefly involved last year. He said that, according to the Trust Deed document, the chairperson of the council is the ex-officio chairperson of the Crayfish Festival Board of Trustees, but that role has been held by Gawanab since last year.
He also confirmed that he was informed of his removal via a WhatsApp message from Gawanab following his appearance on Good Morning Namibia.
Efforts to reach Gawanab for further comment were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
