East African States to have joint safety precautions in Lake Victoria waters
Posted by African Press International on October 3, 2008
<By Leo Odera Omolo
KENYA and other East Africa partners states in the East African Community will soon launch Maritime Administration Units to help in the implementation of the LAKE Victoria Transport Act.
The Act, already endorsed by the three countries is aimed at restoring sanity in the messy lake transport, which has claimed many lives, and reduce the number of accidents.
The Director General of the Kenya Maritime Authority {KMA} Ms Nancy Karigithu said that there was a need to form the units to enforce safety navigation rules in Lake Victoria waters.
“The units will ensure safety standards and compliance with construction and regulations governing the lake transport are strictly observed even by neighbouring countries of Uganda and Tanzania”
Mr Karigithu said the units would instigate maritime training for all lake users.
“The KMA., she disclosed, has put up an office in the lake side City of Kisumu to forsee the establishment of the units and their training, she said, adding that the KMA was currently engaging Beach Management units to help inspects vessels and inform boat owners of the new requirements as provided in the Act.
The Director General said the administrative units of EAC member states would in future, have mandate and power to maintain and administer a registration of all vessels using the lake
“They will be expected to conduct regular inspection of vessels to ebnsure the lake was not polluted.”. Each unit, would ensure navigation aids such as life jackets, were set up and maintained to prevent fatal accidents.
Ms Karigithu, however, insisted that there was urgent need to develop other regulations to lay down specific technical standards for full compliance and easy implementation of the CT.
The Authority is working with other agencies under the framework of the East Africa Community with the view to ensure the new regulations are put in place.”
Meanwhile reports reaching here from Migori district , which is a border district located in the far flung of Southern Nyanza says the official of the Uganda Revenue Authority{URA have seized a fishing island on the Kenyan side of the border and have since hoisted their country’s national flag on the island.
According to the old East African map this island is part and parcel of Kenya. It is situated only about eight kilometers in the eastern shoreline of Lake Victoria.
The URA officials are in the company of a contingent of armed security personnel who are said to be harassing Kenyan fishermen caught while on a fishing expedition. These security men from Uganda, on occasions have seized Kenyan fishermen and preferred flimsy charges of trespass against them, confisticating their fishing gears, boats with outboard engines and other valuable property such as fish nets, money fish etc.
Migingo Island is very close to mainland Kenya and also close to Sori town in Karungu-Bay in Macalder Division of Migori district.
The rocky island for many years been housing Kenyan fishermen, but of lately, like Sigulu Island which is offshore of Busia district in the north, which was seized by the former Uganda despotic ruler Idi Amin in the early 1970s with its 10,000 population of Kenyan fishermen and farmers, who were forcefully made to become naturalized citizens of Uganda by Idi Amin….
Residents and local politicians have place their blame on Kenyan government for not having persued their fate vigorously.
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