Most Fish Factories in Jinja have closed down and hundreds of employees lost jobs due to fish stock outs.
As fishermen and fish traders ponder their next step, Jinja Municipal Council authorities are decrying the loss of revenue. Masese Fish Parkers Ltd, Marine and Agro Export Processors Ltd, Gomba fish Processing Factory and Kamic foods, have all closed down.
According to authorities at Jinja Municipal Council there has been tremendous scarcity of fish which is a raw material for these factories hence pushing them out of business.
Rajab Kitto, the Spokesperson of Jinja Municipal Council says all the fish Processing factories have officially closed down.
“We no longer have any fish Processing Factory in operation due to scarcity of fish, the available fish cannot sustain them to operate,” Kitto noted.
He however said that closure of these factories has had a bearing on the socio-economic development of Jinja town.
“Jinja Municipal Council has been collecting a lot of revenue in terms of taxes from these fish factories,” he said
Many fishermen and traders who make a living from fishing and selling respectively are now skeptical of their future which has been entirely depending on this economic activity.
Last year, President Museveni set up a fish protectorate unit to rid the lake off bad fishing practices which had depleted fish from the lakes but whether it can redeem the glory of fishing in Ugandan lakes, time will tell.
By Hakim Kanyere
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