BIDVEST NAMIBIA

Introduction

Bidvest Namibia became a fully fledged division of Bidvest, preparing the way for a listing on the Namibian Stock Exchange. Key elements of the business are Bidfish and Bidcom. The Namibian equivalents of various South African Bidvest operations are housed within Bidcom.

A key business sustainability objective is to rapidly position Bidvest Namibia as an empowerment pacesetter through rigorous adoption of the BBBEE model pioneered by our South African parent through the Dinatla transaction.

Effective June 30  2009, Bidvest Namibia concluded the Ovanhu transaction, securing local ownership for 18% of the shares in Bidvest Namibia. Three shareholder groups (lead partner, union investment company and Women for Action and Development) and various community groups participated in the transaction.

By broadening local participation in our business operations, we can now attract the best and most highly skilled staff. We anticipate growing marketplace demand and goodwill in view of our reputation as a company that is truly integrated with the local economy.

Sustainability at Bidvest Namibia is closely aligned to the Bidvest Group’s philosophy of increasing social and environmental awareness. Our target for this year is to intensify communication, encouraging employees to find innovative solutions to business challenges. Our enduring goal is to ensure that every initiative makes business sense for all our stakeholders, increases profits and improves the company’s reputation for environmental and social responsibility.

BIDFISH

Material sustainable development issues

• dependence on natural fish resources, especially shared stocks, which can be affected by natural disasters and poor resource management
• HIV/Aids in the workplace related to high health-related absenteeism

Sustainability introduction

The main sustainability issues facing Namsov relate to the management of fish stocks and related environmental issues, the welfare of our crews and of the local communities affected by our operations. Highlights this year were the recovering fish resource and the re-opening of the pilchard cannery.

Resource management

Fish stocks worldwide are under pressure and even well-managed Namibian resources are highly sensitive to any number of factors. However, both operating ports (there are only two along our entire coast) and the 200-mile exclusive economic zone are strictly monitored by the Ministry of Fisheries.

Namsov complies with the fishing and environmental regulations of the Namibian Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources and the International Maritime Organisation’s pollution prevention standards. We are proud to be associated with an industry whose minister has received the Margarita Lizarraga Medal, an award by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation, for responsible stewardship and application of the FAO code of conduct for responsible fisheries in Namibia and the region – the first time an individual has been so honoured.

Horse mackerel

Upwards of 90% of our business is in the harvesting of horse mackerel for markets within Africa. We supported government’s sharp reduction in the total allowable catch to 230 000 tons two years ago, and are now seeing a strong recovery in the resource, resulting in an outstanding fishing season this year. Our competitive position was further strengthened following a costly investment in prior years in quality preservation equipment aboard our vessels, resulting in a preferential off-take of our product, despite tough market conditions.

Pilchards

The pilchard resource, like horse mackerel, is shared between Namibia and Angola. While the stock remains under pressure, catches are recovering and we are cautiously optimistic that the resource is in a recovery phase. We support the conservative management approach applied by government.

Illegal unreported and unregulated fishing is a major challenge for sub-Saharan Africa. Fortunately, this is well controlled in Namibia.

Namsov strongly supports the Benguela Current Commission, a programme for the holistic, uniform management of the Benguela ecosystem. This programme combines and replaces BENEFIT and the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem, which came to an end.

The company plays an active role in local management bodies, sitting on the Midwater Trawl Association and the Pelagic Association. We have two representatives, including CE Jan Arnold, on the Minister’s Advisory Council.