Tuna sector to pay more than K300m

By MARK HAIHUIE
THE tuna industry is expected to pay the Government more than K300 million in revenue by the end of the year, according to the Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources Mao Zeming.
Zeming told The National that the industry created a major revenue for the Government.
“We have about K80 million so far and by end of this year we looking at about K300 million,” he said. Zeming stressed the fisheries sector’s importance in supporting the Government and contributing to the national economy.
“Annually we are paying dividends directly to the national purse. And with the downturn in the economy, fisheries have been coming good,” he said.
“It has been a dependable sector and we have been supporting the Government through revenue at the expense of our own programmes.” The Government through the National Fisheries Authority also aims to support fisheries-related activities in other sectors.
“There has to be a broad assistance in helping the fisheries industry by assisting other sectors because they are all connected and interrelated,” he said.
He plans to make a statement in Parliament on what the sector is doing to promote its activities.