Africa-Press – Angola. The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources wants greater control and supervision of shipowners, aiming for a well-structured value chain, which allows the existence of a fish market with conditions for storing and preserving fish, hygiene and safety and its formalization.
According to this ministerial department, control must pass through the organization at the first moment of access to the fish, that is, from its arrival at the landing sites until its sale, which must be controlled by the General Tax Administration (AGT) for collection of taxes.
The sector also defends an organization that allows every shipowner to have protection in retirement and a healthy life after an active working life.
This intention was expressed by the holder of the Fisheries and Marine Resources portfolio, Cármen Sacramento Neto, when she addressed, this Wednesday, women fish processors from the municipality of Tômbwa and women fishmongers from Moçâmedes in the province of Namibe.
Cármen Sacramento Neto said that this process must be well controlled with well-defined areas, so that this fringe can derive some income from the resale of the fish and, thus, raise some income to support their families.
“We are going to organize the value chain, giving full support to women processors so that they can actually carry out their activity with greater security and organization”, he promised.
To those women treated by “bosses”, from the provinces of Luanda, Malanje, Uíge and others, who charter trucks to transport tons of fish, the minister will meet with them to find solutions that do not harm them or the State with the lack of taxes – a situation that has embarrassed the economy of the municipality of Tômbua and the province in general.
During the meeting, the women asked the minister for the implementation of AGT services at fish landing sites, access to credits and fishing vessels so that they can also be independent from the “bosses”, from whom they now buy the fish, instead of of shipowners, and at a value that they consider very high (15 thousand kwanzas per box) and thus impose rules in this sector.
In response, the minister guaranteed that the sector will implement measures to ensure that acts of this kind do not continue, placing all administrative and AGT services, above all, at police checkpoints so that they can also contribute to taxes.
The women, at this meeting, also asked the minister for fishing vessels so that they could stop being processors and become fishermen. A request rejected by the minister, having argued that it is a situation that requires an in-depth analysis, as if this happens it is necessary to train them with training sessions for the management of the vessels.
In turn, the deputy governor of Namibe for the Economic, Political and Social area, Anica de Sousa, stated that the government has already identified two police stations to collect taxes from all vehicles transporting fish, such as the one in the commune of Lucira, municipality of Moçâmedes and Tchicongiro, municipality of Bibala, areas where more than 20 trucks carrying various goods pass daily.
He informed that the government is creating all the conditions for the placement of technicians from municipal administrations, AGT and the National Police so that the process can begin.
The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources visited the municipality of Tômbua where she visited fishing units such as Pes-sul, SA, Empesul, Pesclasse, and the Tian Hie Pescas fish factory, the fisheries research center (aquatic products technology laboratory – which has not worked for more than three years.
In Moçâmedes, the minister visited Sicopal, El Santos, the maritime research center and the Maritime and Fisheries Polytechnic Institute of Moçâmedes no 54 Hélder Neto.
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