Fishing sector fires back against Master Plan process

Small-scale fishers and coastal communities unite to voice dissatisfaction with the drafting of the Oceans Economy Master Plan

SOUTH AFRICA: A virtual meeting convened last week to position the long-awaited Oceans Economy Master Plan (OEMP) for acceptance by the maritime industry was disrupted when representatives of the small-scale fishing sector and coastal communities used the opportunity to voice their dissatisfaction with the process.

Invited by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) to participate in an industry-wide engagement on the contents of the final draft of the OEMP, representatives from most maritime sectors were witness to a powerful showdown between the Department and disgruntled coastal communities.

Ultimately the DFFE team had to concede that the scheduled agenda for the meeting would need to be amended to recognise that the proposed plenary and break-away groups could not address the issues that were being raised. Instead, they used the opportunity to present what is currently contained in the OEMP and agreed that more introspection was needed to respond to issues of stakeholder engagement.

The release of the draft OEMP, a 230-page document, on the Friday before the Monday meeting was widely condemned by not only the fishing community, but many in attendance. Citing insufficient time to engage with the content of the document as industry sectors, most agreed that it was irresponsible of the DFFE to assume that the meeting could be used to garner industry input.

During the almost six-hour meeting, voice after voice from marginalised coastal communities highlighted the lack of consultation as a major flaw in the OEMP process. “It is disturbing that our people, our indigenous group, is actually not included and visible in this plan,” said Chief Ferdienand Fransman of the West Coast Guriqua San Council. His concern was soon being echoed by numerous other participants. “We were never consulted. We really feel that this is deliberate,” noted Deon Spandiel representing fishers in the Eastern Cape.

The lack of consultation was, however, not restricted to the small-scale fishing sector. Participants from the commercial fishing sector as well as the maritime transport sector also raised the same concerns.

Master plan process questioned

Listening to the input provided by participants, representatives from labour unions noted that the recognised process to develop a sector master plan had not been satisfactorily followed by the DFFE. “The master plan is meant to be a process that is initiated by government and must co-determine what government and public policy looks like,” noted Tony Ehrenreich of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), who called on the DFFE to establish an Executive Oversight Committee (EOC) before proceeding further.

Ehrenreich contended that the current situation furthers tension between those who are seeking a master plan that will address excluded communities and those who seek to retain the status-quo and access to rights.  

Pointing to the long delays in the delivery of the OEMP, Ehrenreich suggested that the process had not been managed effectively. “The management of the process to ensure the active participation of everyone must be overseen by the EOC,” he said. “As Labour we think there is a fundamental problem in the process, and it has to be brought back into alignment,” he added.

Calling for a comfort break before presenting an overview of the work across all the priority streams identified in the OEMP, the DFFE paused the meeting to regroup. Participants from the fishing communities used the opportunity to engage, agreeing that the meeting should be closed as they committed to walk away from the proceedings.

Delivery delayed

Ultimately, however, the majority of participants remained online to engage with DFFE’s presentation after the break. Responding to concerns, the OEMP team opted not to continue with the formal agenda to pursue discussions within the break-away groups – and used the remainder of the meeting to assure the industry that additional stakeholder engagement would take place.

On the surface, the latest draft of the OEMP appears to be similar in content and structure to the version released in 2021. Perhaps a result of the prolonged timeline associated with the drafting of the OEMP, which began in 2019, there were several references made to outdated information as well as the need to include additional priority maritime sectors.

Stakeholders from several sectors urged the DFFE to move forward swiftly to conclude the OEMP process. They noted that significant and sufficient engagement had been undertaken throughout the process and expressed concern that further delays would impact on the delivery of implementation plans.

Inviting input from the participants, the DFFE provided a link to a form to collect comments on the process and how to proceed.

By the close of the meeting the tension between sectors was clear. Calls to press forward and finalise the master plan with some urgency by the more formalised sectors were met by accusations from coastal communities of being dictatorial.

While uncertainty over how the DFFE will proceed exists, it is abundantly clear that ambitions to finalise the OEMP in the short-term may need to be revisited. The message from many sectors is unambiguous and the current situation will need to be rectified before the broader maritime industry will endorse any master plan.  

Port logistics opportunity for Durban WMU explores partnerships with Tanzania