Bernhardt Esau

Bernhardt Martin Esau, also Bernhard[1] or Bernard[2] (born 9 December 1957), is a Namibian politician. A member of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), Esau has been a member of the National Assembly since being nominated by President Sam Nujoma and subsequently elected in the 1994 Namibian general election.

The Honourable Bernhardt Esau MP
Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources
In office 21 March 2010 – 13 November 2019
President	Hifikepunye Pohamba Hage Geingob
Preceded by	Abraham Iyambo
Succeeded by	Albert Kawana (acting)
Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry
In office 1999–2010
President	Sam Nujoma Hifikepunye Pohamba
Preceded by	Wilfried Emvula
Succeeded by	Tjekero Tweya
Personal details
Born	(1957-12-09) 9 December 1957 South West Africa
Nationality	Namibian
Political party	SWAPO
Residence	Windhoek
Alma mater	University of Fort Hare
Occupation	Trade unionist, politician

Esau became a member of parliament in 1995 and joined cabinet in 1999 as Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry. In 2010 he was promoted to Minister of Fisheries, a portfolio he held until November 2019 when he was forced to resign in the wake of the Fishrot scandal.

Career

Esau was born in Swakopmund, Erongo Region on 9 December 1957. He earned his matric at St. Josephs Training College in Döbra in 1977 and graduated from the University of Fort Hare in 1984. Esau rose through the Mineworkers Union of Namibia to become secretary general of the umbrella National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) in 1991. In 1992, during a time of debate concerning the role of Namibia's trade unions, Esau favored maintaining an alliance with SWAPO. However, Esau later in 1994 suggested that the trade unions could form their own political party if workers' rights continued to be ignored by the SWAPO government. In the same year he was placed on the National Assembly list for SWAPO and was voted into the National Assembly in the parliamentary election. Esau was a member of the politburo of SWAPO from 1991 to 1997, and of the Central Committee of the party since 1991. As Deputy Minister, Esau had to support liberal economic policies, including the setting up of export processing zones in Namibia where labour laws do not apply.[3]

Bribery scandal

From March 2010 Esau served as Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources. In President Hage Geingob's cabinet, appointed in March 2015, Esau was retained in his post.[4] In November 2019 he was forced to resign over allegations that he took bribes in exchange for providing fishing quotas to the Icelandic fishing company Samherji.[5][6] He was subsequently arrested on these charges, along with the former justice minister Sacky Shanghala.[7]

References

1. Geingob accepts Esau, Shanghala resignations. The Namibian, 13. November 2019.
2. Esau, Shanghala resign amid corruption claims — President accepts resignations Namibia Economist, 13. November 2019.
3. Bernhardt Esau Archived June 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine at Namibia Institute for Democracy
4. "Geingob announces Cabinet" Archived 2015-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, The Namibian, 20 March 2015.
5. Reuters (2019-11-13). "Two Namibian Ministers Resign Over Bribery Scandal Involving Icelandic Fishing Firm". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
6. Iileka, Sakeus (14 November 2019). "Disgraced ministers resign". The Namibian. p. 1.
7. "Namibia arrests former justice minister in fishing scandal". Reuters. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-27.

Preceded by Abraham Iyambo	Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources 2010–2019	Succeeded by Albert Kawana (acting)
Preceded by Wilfried Emvula	Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry 1999–2010	Succeeded by Tjekero Tweya