Busia Governor Dr. Paul Otuoma has called for a review of the Fisheries Act to align it with the 2010 constitution.
Dr. Otuoma said the existing law was not in tandem with the new constitution, thus hindering the growth of the sector.
This, he said, was to blame for the shortage of fish in the country, with various aquaculture programs in the counties failing to take off due to lack of a clear legal framework.
Dr. Otuoma, who chairs the Council of Governors (COG) Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Blue Economy Committee, said CoG was pushing for a review of the Fisheries Act to unlock legal issues and bottlenecks affecting Fisheries development in the country.
Speaking during the inaugural Lake Victoria Aquaculture Forum in Kisumu, Otuoma said since agriculture was devolved, there was an urgent need to review the existing laws to enable the county governments to play an active role in reviving the sector.
“We are in talks with the national government. The Cabinet Secretary (CS), Ali Hassan Joho, being a former governor, understands the issues we are raising and is in agreement that we FastTrack the review of the act,” he said.
A technical team comprising of representatives of CoG, county governments, and the Ministry of Mining and Blue Economy, he said, has been constituted to iron out the contentious issues and build a strong legal framework to promote aquaculture in the country.
All stakeholders, he said, will be engaged in the process to ensure that the piece of legislation developed speaks to the issues bedevilling the sector.
The lake region, he said, had a lot of potential in helping realise the country’s demand for fish, calling on county governments to prepare themselves to play an active role in the development of the sector.
Lake Victoria being a transboundary resource, he said all partner states must front joint efforts and formulate uniform legislation to protect the lake and fishermen who depend on it as a source of livelihood.
Kenyan fishermen, he said, continue to be harassed by Ugandan authorities, while some have been jailed, adding that the uniform legislation was urgent to ensure that residents of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania tap into the resources without unnecessary harassment.
“We have in place the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation, which is a regional body that must be empowered to develop regulations to govern fishing activities in the lake. We have 300,000 people in the lake daily looking for a livelihood, and they must do so in an organised manner without being harassed,” he said.
The governor further rooted for the fasttracking of the Kabonyo Kanyagwal fish project in Kisumu to enhance the region’s and country’s fingerling production.
This, coupled with research, he said, holds the key to unlocking the region’s aquaculture potential to curb importation of fish from China to bridge the gap in supply.
Speaking during the same occasion, Kisumu Governor Prof. Anyang Nyong’o reiterated the need to review the existing laws and formulate a regional framework to manage the Lake Victoria fishery.
The lake, he added, was under so much pressure, with some of the indigenous fish species facing extinction.
“We must urgently establish why our fish resources in the lake and rivers are being depleted and find ways of reversing this,” he said.
Lake Victoria Aquaculture Association (LVA) Board Member Pete Ondeng said the caucus targets to enhance strategic collaboration and partnerships amongst diverse aquaculture stakeholders.
“The aim of the association is to be the premier platform for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and advocacy to promote sustainable aquaculture practices and economic growth in the region,” he said.
The association, he added, will champion the development of policies and legal frameworks to help unlock the sector’s potential.
By Chris Mahandara
