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Zulfikar Mustapha

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha

January 29 ,2021

Source

-in answer to parliamentary question


Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha yesterday refused to name the holders of two controversial trawler licences even though he was specifically asked about this in a question lodged with Parliament.

APNU+AFC Member of Parliament Khemraj Ramjattan had tabled four questions in the House seeking clarification on the issuance of the licences amid discontent in the fishing sector.

Ramjattan had asked “To whom were the two new trawler licences issued to for years 2020-2021 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries Department? Was there any due diligence conducted on these licence(s)? If there was any such due diligence done, could the Minister provide copies to this Honourable House of the said due diligence Report(s)? And was the Guyana Association of Trawler Owners and Seafood Processors Association (GATOSP) consulted in any way prior to the grant of the two trawler licences?”

Mustapha in a written reply to the question on the recipients of the licences stated, as he had done before, that they were issued to a well-established Guyanese operator in the fishing industry. While withholding the name of the individual or company, the minister said that the licences holder “complied with the requisite procedures and satisfied all legal requirements…”

On the question as to whether GATOSP was consulted prior to the grant of the trawler licences, Mustapha said he was not required to provide an answer to the question but noted that his ministry consults on a regular basis with each and every entity that falls under the ministry’s administration.

“In the same manner that you were not required to consult licensed firearm holders before you went and handed out hundreds of gun licenses, there is equally no requirement to consult with trawler owners and seafood processors for the grant of new licenses,” Mustapha responded.

Responding to the two remaining questions which asked if due diligence was conducted and for evidence to be provided to the House of this, Mustapha said he had no knowledge that a requirement for due diligence had to be conducted.

“In the Ministry of Agriculture, as indeed, every Ministry in our Government, decisions are based on a meritocracy and not on a caprice nor extraneous nor irrelevant considerations,” Mustapha said, while contending that the questions asked were “misconceived and erroneous as due diligence cannot be done on a ‘Licence’”.

Ramjattan, after reviewing the answers circulated to the House, told Stabroek News that they were  “wholly outrageous” and said he was “stunned” by them and would need time to better react to the responses.

Since mid-November when GATOSP first brought the issue to the fore, questions have been asked about the circumstances under which  the licences were issued.

The association in its first missive to the Minister of Agriculture stated that the two licences had been granted in contravention of sustainable fishing practices.

In an interview with Stabroek News last week, the minister had said that approval of the new licences, does not breach the quota of vessels that can operate nor does it threaten the international certification of the trade.

He justified the approval by explaining that several licences are inactive and the current number of trawlers operating does not exceed 80, while emphasising that it does not go against the agreement in place with GATOSP and international partners.

Following a meeting with the association last week, a committee comprising members from his ministry and GATOSP, will be installed to address the controversial issuance of the two new trawler licences for seabob fishing operations.

The minister had told this newspaper that the committee will be tasked with meeting regularly and will propose recommendations and solutions to key issues in the sector.

Mustapha added that the committee will not only meet to work out the issuance of the two trawler licences but also other findings unearthed from the ministry’s in-depth investigation. The ministry had launched an in-depth investigation into the sector subsequent to the trawlers association registering concern over the granting of the licences.

According to the extant agreement with GATOSP, no more than 87 vessels should be operating in the industry. The minister had pointed out that some licences are currently dormant.

The Ministry has faced criticism for the approval of the licences as they have the potential to decimate the industry, GATOSP had argued.

In its November letter to the Minister, GATOSP had said that the addition of any vessel to the current licensing agreements is in contravention of the pact that it and the Fisheries Department of the ministry had agreed to.

The GATOSP letter also stated that members had been alerted of the two new licences after reports began circulating in the fishing community. It added that some level of confirmation surfaced afterwards when the supposed holder of the new licences approached the owner of one of the seabob processing plants for an agreement whereby the plant would process the shrimp caught by his vessel.

Given the implications, the WWF Guianas’ local office had also written to Mustapha seeking clarification on the context in which the licences were granted. “…We would be grateful if you can provide any information you may have in relation to this matter,” Aiesha Williams, Guyana Country Manager for the WWF Guianas, wrote in the December 11 letter, saying there was need to better understand the context in which the licences were issued.

Williams also expressed concern over the reported issuance of the new licences in a manner that could have “deep implications” for the country’s ability to maintain its Maritime Stewardship Council (MSC) certification over seabob.

Guyana holds the position as the number one exporter of seabob shrimps. In 2019 almost 21,000 metric tonnes were exported, versus 2018 when 22,000 metric tonnes were shipped out.

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The absurdity of Mustapha's position and its acceptance by PPP acolytes is indicative of a wider absurdity.  Here we have Mustapha secretly granting fishing licences (for seabob) and now refusing in Parliament to say to whom they were granted.  It is important to note that the granting of those licences places the sustainability approval of the  Maritime Stewardship Council in jeopardy. Next time you are in the seafood section of your local supermarket watch for this stamp on seafood products.  Why the secrecy?  Why isn't there an outcry against something that smacks of corruption?  It is because of the wider absurdity of backward people backing a corrupt government acting against their interests.   But, as we know, chupidness na gat cure but could be curbed by drastic action.

T

Defiance

No one could accuse Minister Zulfikar Mustapha of being altogether clear in his mode of operating. There he was last week saying that the approval of two new trawler licences for seabob fishing operations does not breach the quota of vessels which are allowed to operate in the industry or risk international certification.  He is basing that apparently on the fact that several licences were inactive and the current number of trawlers is 80, in circumstances where 87 are permitted. That notwithstanding, he did not appear to evince any interest in exactly how sustainable the seabob catches are at the present time; he just assumed that we are safe without making any arrangements to find out if that is so.

As it was he said the Ministry had launched an in-depth investigation into the trade, in order to get an understanding of the issues involved as well as the challenges faced by the operators. This, it might be noted was after the licences had been granted, not before, and only when the licensed trawler operators had raised questions and pointed to a lack of due diligence in the granting of the new licences. They had simply not been consulted, as if they were irrelevant to the issue.

The Minister said that the Ministry of Agriculture had obtained a vessel to conduct an inspection of the seabob trade, but there was no indication as to whether that involved sustainability issues, rather than just a monitoring of the trade as such. There seemed to be a total lack of clarity about how the licences were granted, and he had simply responded that the matter was being investigated.

Up until yesterday when questions were asked in Parliament no one even knew who had been granted the trawler licences, the Minister fobbing the press off with the reply that they had gone to a reputable Guyanese company which had been in the fisherfolk business.  It is therefore outrageous that when faced with a question in Parliament, the Minister engaged in open defiance and refused to deliver the name of the company that secured the licences.

To MP Ramjattan’s simple question: “To whom were the two new trawler licences issued, for years 2020-2021, by the Ministry of Agricul-ture, Fisheries Department?” the Minister’s unacceptable response was “They were issued to a well-established Guyanese operator in the fishing industry who was duly qualified to receive the said licenses, who complied with the requisite procedures and satisfied all the legal requirements in relation thereto”.

The entire purpose of the lodging of the question was to elicit a direct answer as to who now holds the two new licences so that MPs and the public could begin deciding for themselves whether the allocations were above board and appropriate. The Minister has exhibited gross intransigence in refusing to answer and has now provided further grounds for the public to be concerned that the handing out of the licences was irregular and warrant immediate investigation.

By his evasiveness and unwillingness to be transparent Minister Mustapha has now relieved himself of this matter though there will be consequences. The Ali administration will now face the burden of answering the public for once and for all. Who secured the two licences in contravention of a pre-existing agreement and with the prospect of damaging international sustainability certification? The question will  not go away. It will dog the Ali administration and raise very early concerns  about its willingness to be transparent and open with the people’s business. It will no doubt take note of the release yesterday of the 2020 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index.

We had earlier reported that a Chinese company had put up the finance for the licensing. Mr Mustapha had gone on to remark that every Guyanese should have an equal opportunity to earn.  He should be reminded that this should not be at the expense of sustainability in the seabob industry or good governance. It does not seem to have occurred to him that finding out the status of seabob in our waters should be a prerequisite before any decision on the trawler industry is made. But he seems to be operating back to front.

He did meet the stakeholders in the industry after delays caused by Covid, and recourse was had to that traditional bureaucratic standby – creating a committee. This will comprise members from the Ministry as well as from the Guyana Association of Trawler Owners and Seafood Processors and will address the matter of the two new trawler licences as well as other findings from the ministry’s investigation. For his part Mr Mustapha said the committee will meet regularly and will propose recommendations for the sector. Both sides, he told this newspaper, were committed to ironing out the concerns. “I am prepared to listen to them and hear what they have to say and make recommendations,” he was quoted as saying, “We have to work together to realise the full potential of the industry.”

While the Minister was reported as having told members that the Ministry had no intention of acting in contravention of their agreement on the number of licences or undermining the international certification which they hold from the Marine Stewardship Council for sustainable fishing, given the whole way in which he has managed this matter it remains to be seen whether he will act on anything emerging from this committee.

What is unusual about this case is that the current Minister has changed the direction of the industry which was created by a previous PPP/C government – and that, as said earlier, without any prior investigation or thought. AFC MP Ramjattan has said that the previous APNU+AFC administration built on what was already in place, and granted no new licences. Guyana, he said, was one of the largest exporters of seabob in the world.

All one can say at this stage is that Minister Mustapha does not convey the impression he will entertain revoking the licences even if an incontrovertible case were eventually to be made out for him doing so. His refusal to answer the question in Parliament yesterday places him in an unwelcome spotlight.

Django
@Mitwah posted:

Dev Ravindra was asking about you. You don't even own a blade of grass in Guyana.

You does go at all length to find some Man that wants to know me. Lil Boi, spend time and see which man does go by you. Me deh very good, least care if you exist.  Yes, I don't own grass in Guyana ,but I own a lot more. I recently placed some acreage on WCD for sale and Panday is negotiating the sale.

Look go play with Tota Bai.

K
@kp posted:

You does go at all length to find some Man that wants to know me. Lil Boi, spend time and see which man does go by you. Me deh very good, least care if you exist.  Yes, I don't own grass in Guyana ,but I own a lot more. I recently placed some acreage on WCD for sale and Panday is negotiating the sale.

Look go play with Tota Bai.

All of the above needed ?

Django
@kp posted:

Mitwah wants to know and Tota jealous.

Why don't you ask Mitwah that very question. Anyway it bears no relevance.

Who gives a flying f..ck who you are and what you do?  You are a dag sucka.

T
@Django posted:

Follow the thread ,you will get the answer.

@kp posted:

Blah, Blah! Worry about illegal fishing by the Surinamese and Venezuelans in Guyana's water.

Dev Ravindra was asking about you. You don't even own a blade of grass in Guyana.

That was my first post , now look at Mitwah's reply. I was NOT personal with anyone.

Maybe them telling you what to say. I would not take shit from Mitwah or Totaram.

Anti-man KP, you are daag suka and you know it.  Did I say you are also very chupid?  Chupidee ******* KP.    Says Totaram.

Hope you observe carefully.

K
@Django posted:

What's offensive in Mitwah post ?  after that you went off on a tangent.

Quit the bullcrap about individuals telling what to post , I think for my self .

Then you just want to attack me and you hope I shut up. Doing a fine job.

K

Recalcitrance on trawling licences not the style of management expected by Ali gov’t

Dear Editor,

The Minister of Agriculture has continuously been ignoring calls for an explanation on the granting of two fishing licences for seabob fishing, and the naming of the licensees.

This matter was first highlighted by the Guyana Association of Trawler Owners and Seafood Processors (GATOSP), in a letter dated 19th November 2020, to the Minister. The said Minister was reported to be initiating “an investigation to determine how the two new trawling licences were issued” (Stabroek News, 27th Nov 2020 `Seafood processors alarmed at reports two new trawling licences issued by ministry’.) Since then there has been no report on the status of the investigation.

The GATOSP claimed the issuance of the two new licences was in breach of the current licensing agreement it had with the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Agriculture. The agreement had caused a reduction in the trawler fleet from one hundred (100) to eighty (80) trawlers.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) got involved when it wrote on 11th December 2020, to the Minister “seeking clarification on the context in which the licences were granted.” (Papannah, D. 2020. `WWF concerned over new seabob fishing licences -warns of possible loss of certification, industry collapse’, Stabroek News.) The Guyana Country Manager for the WWF Guianas, Ms Aiesha Williams “expressed concern over the reported issuance of the new licences in a manner that could have `deep implications’ for the country’s ability to maintain its Maritime Stewardship Council (MSC) certification over seabob.” This hints at the possibility of Guyana losing its MSC certification which was obtained with the aid of  the WWF. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) lists Guyana as the largest seabob exporter globally, and Guyana is already under international scrutiny over how it manages this fishery resource. This seabob industry is Guyana’s only certified fishery sector and it needs to be protected.

Ms Aiesha Williams, pointed out in her letter that a recent stock assessment of Guyana’s seabob population revealed that it is fully exploited and it is at the point where the population curve is at the maximum sustainable yield.

“Any further increase in fishing effort will lead to overfishing and possible collapse of the industry, since the removal of individuals (seabob) is equal to the number of recruits (offspring) entering the fishery (deaths=births), from a fisheries management context,”

She also stated that the sector is a closed fishery with 87 licensed seabob trawlers from which the current harvest control rule is calculated. Any change in the licensing to increase fishing will “therefore push the Guyana Seabob fishery industry beyond the sustainability limit”

Unfortunately, all of this appears to have been missed or sidelined by the Minister as he has apparently granted the approval for the two licences without any consultation with the GATOSP, which consists of the industry’s experts and those most affected.

This is not the style of management expected by the Ali Government. This type of management is very high-handed and has a `don’t care’ attitude. Gone are the days when Ministers could do whatever they felt like without any repercussions. The Guyanese people are no longer docile. When the said Minister refuses to name the licensees when asked to in Parliament, he is thumbing his nose at the 227,016 persons who did not vote for his Party. We would like to know the names of those who were granted the licences.

The Minister, by refusing to provide the names, is opening the door for claims of corruption, cronyism and nepotism taking place again in a PPP Government, the previous two of which were filled with such accusations.

The Minister in his answer in Parliament said, “There is equally no requirement to consult with the trawler owners and seafood processors for the grant of new licences.” This is the attitude we must demand our Government(s) move away from. No Government should be making decisions which will affect an industry, without first consulting the stakeholders of that industry. We are not a dictatorship. The Minister is also on record as saying that some of the existing licences are dormant or inactive. If this is indeed the situation, the Minister should first revoke those licences which are not being used or have not been used during the previous five years, then issue the new licences, keeping the number of trawlers within the agreed quota for the sustainability of the industry.

It is my suggestion that the management of the Fisheries Department, not the Minister, get together with the GATOSP and decide on whether there are any unused, inactive, dormant fishing licences. Reasons should be given why these licences are in their present state and what is the possibility of them becoming active in the very near future. If there are no valid reasons given, the owners of those licences should be given a warning with a timeline, that they may lose their licenses if they do not reactivate them.  The Fisheries Department can then make recommendations, agreed upon with the GATOSP, to the Minister who can then issue new licences if needed.

Yours faithfully,

Jonathan Yearwood

Django

Contempt of parliament?

Dear Editor,

Could the minister who refused to answer questions posed and provide information relating to his portfolio be liable to be held in contempt of parliament?

Yours faithfully,

Shamshun Mohamed

Django

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