Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs CS Salim Mvurya sat down with the Lake Victoria fisherfolk at the weekend to highlight the potential of the lake and steady the fish value chain.
The meeting was held at the home of the Information Communication and Digital Economy CS Eliud Owalo in Asembo, Siaya county, and brought together Beach Management Unit officials drawn from Busia, Siaya, Homa Bay and Migori counties.
As a quick way to offer a ready market for Kenyan fish, Mvurya said the Kenya Kwanza government will effectively discourage the import of foreign fish into the country by imposing high import duty.
"The Kenya Kwanza government has proposed in the Finance Bill, 2023, that import duty be imposed on imported fish. This will discourage the flow of fish from other countries like China while giving an opportunity to the local fishermen to sell their produce," Mvurya said.
Owalo, who hosted the meeting, explained that, together with Mvurya, they have planned a major conference that will highlight further ways in which Lake Victoria can be made more economically beneficial to the surrounding communities.
The chairman of the Lake Victoria BMU Networks Tom Guda asked Mvurya to prioritise the construction of fish processing plants in various beaches.
"The landing sites will be the first place for value addition. We will construct cold rooms so that fisherfolk can delay sales and have control of the prices," Mvurya said.
Specifically, his ministry, he said, is keen on building cold rooms at Wich Lum in Siaya, Asal and Ogal in Kisumu and Sori in Migori.
The fishermen informed the ministry that land cartels are increasingly grabbing the landing sites on Lake Victoria thus hampering the smooth delivery of fish from the high waters onto land.
The matter has caused sporadic conflicts amongst the fishermen and the cartels, they said.
The CS promised to coordinate with the Ministry of Lands to do surveys and process title deeds as will be appropriate.
The former Kwale governor also informed the BMU delegates that the government has sent out an advertisement with regards to the planned construction of a Sh500 million Value Additional Industrial Park in Siaya.
The industrial park, Mvurya explained, will be instrumental in fish processing, thus enabling fishermen to trample over perishability of fish that has hindered the sector for years unending.
On the vulnerability of Kenyan fishermen at the hands of Ugandan security officers that has occasionally seen compatriots rounded up in the lake and charged with an offence of netting Ugandan fish, the BMU officials asked the ministry to up their foreign relations game.
"Please beef up security, especially due to the perennial harassment and arrest of Kenyan fishermen by Ugandan security officers. We are losing a lot of money," Guda said.
Apart from being arrested for allegedly fishing on the Ugandan part of Lake Victoria, Guda said Kenyan fishermen are also being arrested for using solar lights to fish omena at night.
Lake Victoria is the umbilical cord of East Africa and fish do not know boundaries, Guda said, urging Mvurya to convene a high delegation meeting composed of both Ugandan and Kenyan stakeholders.
Mvurya bemoaned the perennial insecurity in the lake and vulnerability of Kenyans in the hands of their Ugandan counterparts. Accordingly, he noted that a multi-agency team has been formed to discuss the issue with Ugandan officials" and that the same matter will be profiled with the East African Community for action.
The CS instructed officers in his ministry to deliver a patrol boat worth Sh50 million to Kisumu to boost the efforts of securing Kenyans who earn a living by fishing on Lake Victoria.
Another boat of a similar cost, Mvurya said, will be delivered to Lake Turkana.
He warned the coast guard against harassment and arrest of fishermen who are doing an honest day's work, saying their work is to create an enabling environment for fishermen to thrive.
Homa Bay County BMU chairman Edward Oremo called on the government to help fight polluters as contamination of the lake waters has lately led to the death of millions of fish in cage farms.
"We would like your ministry to dig deep into the matter of the pollution of the lake. Please liaise with others to protect our lakes because fishermen will have nowhere to go if the lake is not protected," Oremo said.
Recently, when millions of fish in cages in Kisumu perished, experts attributed the calamity to depletion of oxygen in the waters of Lake Victoria.
"It is not true that oxygen in Lake Victoria just decreases on its own, leading to death of caged fish, Mvurya said, promising to establish the source of pollution and hold individuals or companies culpable.
Dredging of the Mbita Course way, marketing of fish, protection of landing sites and installation of free Wifi on various beaches are the other issues that the BMU leaders asked government to do.
Sacco Regulatory Authority chairman Jack Ranguma called on the BMUs to strengthen their already formed 30 saccos on Lake Victoria, for BMUs to benefit from government financial assistance such as the Hustler Fund's group loans.
"The sacco and cooperative industry boasts of a Sh1.5 trillion wealth yet all saccos in Nyanza (Kisii excluded) claim just a paltry 0.02 per cent of that wealth," Ranguma said.
He said saccos will make marketing of fish in the fish value chain much easier.
CS Owalo promised that his ministry will install digital laboratories in every beach of Lake Victoria to enable the fisherfolk leverage on technology to increase prospects.
"The beauty with Wifi is that you can even market internationally instead of you physically carrying fish on your head. We will leverage technology to market our fish," Owalo said of the plan.
The meeting was also attended by Blue Economy CAS Fred Outa and the chairman of the Kenya Fish Marketing Authority Martin Ogindo and Siaya County Commissioner Jim Njoka.
Outa called on the fisherfolk to embrace the government of the day to benefit more from government interventions.
According to the former Kisumu Senator, it is true the region voted for Azimio boss Raila Odinga but the reality, he said, is that Raila's competitor William Ruto was crowned president.
Owalo vowed to take the government to the people of Nyanza even though they are still adamant to accept that their candidate lost.
I will bring the government to you by improving the economy because President Ruto is for all of us as Kenyans.
-Edited by SKanyara