Renthia Kaimbi
Tunacor Fisheries Limited, a Walvis Bay-based fishing company, has replaced its managing director with the company’s former chief executive officer, Gerrie Hough.
Outgoing MD Peya Hitula confirmed to the Windhoek Observer that Hough had taken his place.
However, Hitula refuted allegations of his firing or demotion.
He said he has moved into a more senior governance role within the company.
This comes as talks that started circulating in mid-December suggested that Hitula was dismissed over alleged links to the fishrot scandal or had stepped down under pressure.
“It is true that I am no longer the managing director of Tunacor, but not for the various ridiculous reasons that I have heard myself. In fact, I have moved up in position to become the director responsible for governance,” Hitula stated.
He said he assumed his new duties yesterday and described the change as a strategic decision by the company, not a disciplinary move.
Tunacor board chairperson Sidney Martin also rejected the allegations and said they were defamatory.
“Those allegations are factually not true and are tantamount to character defamation,” Martin said.
“The MD of Tunacor has not been fired, nor is he involved in the fishrot saga. The MD still serves on the board of directors of Tunacor and the board has restructured the responsibilities of his key management.”
Martin welcomed verification before publication, saying, “I give you credit for enquiring firstly before printing sensational reporting.”
The claims gained traction amid ongoing scrutiny of the country’s fishing sector following the Fishrot bribery and corruption scandal that came to light in 2019.
The scandal became public after a former Samherji executive exposed it by leaking the fishrot files.
Hitula has not been formally linked to the fishrot court case, apart from being shortlisted for the position of chief executive officer at the National Fishing Corporation of Namibia Limited (Fishcor) after the arrest of former Fishcor CEO and fishrot accused Mike Nghipunya.
Nghipunya, with his co-accused former fisheries minister Bernhardt Esau, former justice minister Sacky Shanghala, James Hatuikulipi, Tamson Hatuikulipi, Ricardo Gustavo and Pius Mwatelulo, is in custody awaiting trial.
They are accused of planning and carrying out a corruption scheme linked to the Icelandic fishing company Samherji.
The state alleges that they received bribes in exchange for fishing rights.
Tunacor is known to have bought the controversial fishrot vessel Heinaste from the State for N$280 million, down from a valuation of N$400 million.
The company was founded in 1958 as a pilchard cannery and fishmeal facility.
Over the years, it expanded and changed ownership, first under South African control and later under Spanish management.
In 2014, Tunacor became fully Namibian-owned. Before then, Namibians held 51% of the company, while the remaining 49% was owned by the Spanish firm Pesca Puerta, which focused on investment and distribution.
