East Africa Partner States have committed to scale up investments in the conservation of Lake Victoria to protect the water body from pollution and adverse effects of climate change.
Principal and Permanent Secretaries from the EAC partner states sharing the resource committed to increasing budgetary allocations to ensure various conservation programmes in the Lake are sustained.
Speaking during the 11th Joint Regional Policy Steering Committee (RPSC) meeting for Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) projects and programmes, the PS’s underscored the need for partner states to take the lead in resource mobilisation to give impetus to the drive to save the lake.
The meeting chaired by Kenya’s State Department for Water and Sanitation Principal Secretary (PS) Julius Korir rooted for locally led interventions to conserve the lake, which continues to experience rapid pollution affecting both human and aquatic life.
Pollution, he said, threatened the existence of the lake, which is a source of livelihood for millions of East African residents, calling on partner states to prioritise conservation efforts since support from development partners was dwindling.
“We must come up with ways to mobilise adequate resources from our own revenues to sustain ongoing conservation projects so that this lake can thrive,” he said.
EAC partner states sharing the lake, he said, must consolidate resources and design new projects to ensure that the lake thrives to support future generations.
“Our national priorities should not overshadow the need to conserve the lake. We must come to the table with a common agenda of protecting the lake,” he said.
The PS lauded the various ongoing programmes spearheaded by LVBC to conserve the lake, saying the initiatives have immensely eased pressure on the lake.
He pointed out the Lake Victoria Basin Integrated Water Resource Management (LVB-IWRM) project, through which various sanitation projects have been rolled out in Kisumu, Kampala, and Kigali.
This, he said, was set to enhance proper sanitation in the urban centres, thus containing pollution in the lake.
Other projects include the Multinational Lake Victoria Maritime Communication and Transport (MLVMCT) project and the Nile Cooperation for Climate Change Resilience (NCCR) project.
Uganda’s Water and Environment PS Alfred Okot said the joint conservation efforts were key in saving the water body, calling on all partner states not to relent in the drive to conserve the lake.
Lake Victoria, he added, was also under threat due to climate change, adding that new projects must be designed to combat the phenomenon.
Rwanda’s Water PS Beatrice Cyiza said conserving the lake cannot be done in silos. Successful conservation, she said, must be done collectively to ensure uniform results.
LVBC Executive Secretary (ES) Dr. Masinde Bwire said the commission, which is an EAC agency mandated with the conservation of the Lake Victoria Basin, was on course with the various projects.
The agency, he added, was scaling up engagements with development partners to complete ongoing projects and design new ones to conserve the lake.
By Chris Mahandara
