Recognising the impact of knowledge and transparency
A tribute to Dr Monde Mayekiso
The recent passing of Dr Monde Mayekiso prompted us to reflect on his contributions to Maritime Review Africa in his position as Chief Director of the then Marine and Coastal Management (MCM). Engaging with our fisheries editor, Claire Ward, he helped create a level of transparency across significant areas of importance in the regular column, On The Line over the course of several years.
Ward had previously worked closely with Mayekiso on a series of public consultations as a communications officer for a series of public consultations around the White Paper on Marine Fisheries Policy and had first flighted the column in the magazine with Horst Kleinschmidt before co-opting Mayekiso to continue the legacy.
“Monde wasn’t a natural communicator. I think he sometimes found it difficult to strike the right balance between saying enough but not too much. Yet he valued the opportunity provided by Maritime Review to speak directly to a fishing community that, at the time, was desperate for clear information on a range of controversial subjects.
“What stood out most was his unfailing courtesy and composure. Even under immense pressure – and even when others were impatient or unkind – he remained consistently measured and respectful,” says Ward, recalling her engagements with him over the course of several years.
“He was a deeply thoughtful person who made it his mission to fully understand the complex issues confronting the fishing industry. He wanted to hear all sides of a story – and in fishing, there were usually many.”
“He was a deeply thoughtful person who made it his mission to fully understand the complex issues confronting the fishing industry. He wanted to hear all sides of a story – and in fishing, there were usually many,” she adds.
The importance of engaging with the industry became a key theme in the content of his columns as he highlighted the strategic imperative to foster communication between MCM and the fishing industry. In 2007 he dedicated a column to the topic, describing it as a key focus for the year. In a column at the beginning of 2008, Mayekiso explained the importance of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management and highlighted the need to engage meaningfully with industry stakeholders on the approach.
Apart from providing useful insights into fisheries management approaches over the years, Mayekiso was not afraid to tackle some of the pricklier issues facing the sector from budgetary constraints to long term fishing rights and the challenges of ongoing poaching.
Financial challenges
At the end of 2006, Mayekiso used the column to address the rumours that were circulating about the Marine Living Resource Fund (MLRF) in a refreshingly transparent update, noting matter-of-factly that “there is little doubt that the management of MLRF has been less than satisfactory”.
Despite this, however, he was able to confirm tangible steps that were being taken to address the issues including strategic appointments, systems and the commitment from Treasury to help fund the running of the patrol vessels.
In 2008 he was upfront about the impact of budgetary cuts on the department, admitting that sea days for the patrol vessels would have to be reduced from 245 days to 175 a year – while also highlighting the not insignificant daily cost of having the vessels berthed at the quayside. In the same article he noted the similar impact that reduced funding would have on marine science and training.
“I believe that if we continue to sacrifice funding for research in this way, we will ultimately end up with our own Eskom-like problem.”
“I believe that if we continue to sacrifice funding for research in this way, we will ultimately end up with our own Eskom-like problem,” he predicted.
Mayekiso returned to budgetary issues in late 2009 to address the impact of funding on the department’s ability to undertake scheduled survey cruises. At the time two non-essential cruises had been cancelled to ensure that a spawner biomass cruise went ahead. “When we reviewed our budget … we were forced to prioritise,” he said highlighting the difficult juggling act that seemed to be an ongoing necessity for MCM.
Fishing rights allocation
South Africa has a fraught relationship with the fishing rights allocation process (FRAP) and court cases followed by appeals are nothing new. In a column addressing appeals lodged against the first allocation of long-term rights in 2006, he noted that “getting the allocation right means different things to different people”.
“Getting the allocation right means different things to different people.”
He explained this tenuous situation further: “The Department is primarily concerned with ensuring that the process we follow is aligned with our policies, procedurally sound and legally defensible. However, I am certain that the only thing that matters for most applicants is the outcome of the allocation and whether it advantages or disadvantages them.”
A loss to the industry
It is not only this level of transparency that has been lost in the industry. Mayekiso’s commitment to fostering the next generation of marine scientists saw him move from public service to a service of another kind as he ultimately found himself at the Nelson Mandela University.
In commemorating his contribution to the institution, NMU posted: “His academic legacy is matched only by the values he lived by—discipline, curiosity, integrity, and compassion. He brought not only technical brilliance to the fore, but a rare kind of wisdom that balanced rigour with empathy, strategy with humanity and critique with empathy.
“Dr Mayekiso’s footprints are etched in the shorelines and the ecosystems he worked to protect, in the progressive policies he helped craft, in the young minds he mentored, and in the institutional memory of this Nelson Mandela University.”
His contribution to Maritime Review’s coverage of the fishing industry has created a repository of historical knowledge and background that will have value for decades to come.
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