President William Ruto has announced an ambitious plan to curb accidents and other emergencies on Lake Victoria, which have long plagued the local fishing community.
Speaking at a town hall meeting in Kisumu on Thursday night, August 29, 2024, President Ruto outlined his strategy to enhance the blue economy in the Nyanza region, emphasizing the safety and welfare of the fishermen.
During his address, President Ruto highlighted an alarming statistic that approximately 5,000 individuals lose their lives annually on Lake Victoria due to a range of issues, including boat accidents.
“The 5th issue is to ensure we reduce the péople we lose on the lake. As you are aware we lose close to 5,000 péople in Lake Victoria every year because of the kind of gear they are using, the boats they are using, the capsizing that takes place,” Ruto remarked.
Chopper
As a key part of his mitigation efforts, Ruto announced the establishment of a rescue centre set to be launched on Friday, August 30, 2024, equipped with facilities aimed at preventing disasters on Lake Victoria.
He further promised the deployment of a chopper to provide emergency rescue services for the fishermen in Nyanza.
“Again tomorrow, as a region, as East African region we are going to be launching tomorrow a rescue centre that will have all the necessary facilities including further down the road a chopper that can be used to rescue péople who have accidents in Lake Victoria,” Ruto said.
“If we make fishing safe, we can encourage more péople to do fishing,” he added, signalling his commitment to transforming the fishing industry and enhancing economic opportunities for the local communities.
The president also spoke about additional interventions the government is planning for the blue economy in Nyanza, underscoring the importance of infrastructure development and capacity building to unlock the full potential of the fishing industry.
“And there are other interventions that we are working on as a government to make sure that as we focus on how to unlock the potential in fishing, we are building the necessary infrastructure, human capital, support for us to drive that because it is important not just for our economy, it is also important for our food security,” he said.
As Nyanza residents await the launch of the rescue centre, Ruto’s pledge has sparked optimism about the future of the fishing community and the broader blue economy in Kenya.
