President Museveni has said a solution for the challenges faced by the fishing communities in around the country is in the offing.
Ahead of Museveni’s campaigns in the area, Amolatar LC5 chairman, Geoffrey Ocen
“Our people are in the middle of two lakes, Lake Kwania and Lake Kyoga, But we are not benefiting from the lakes. Even fish for food our people cannot get. We seek to request his excellency the president if he can use his mandate to allow our people to go and fish for food,”Ocen told the Nile Post in an interview
“ We cannot rely only on fish for export or fish for big hotels in Kampala. Our people should also fish for food and for local markets within here.”
Speaking in response to the outcry, Museveni said a solution , not only for the fishing communities in Amolatar but the country at large is in the offing.
“There has been some struggle between the fisheries unit and some of our people. For me, we need fish of the lake but we also need to do a lot of fish farming. I am raising money to help you fish farming. This will be for the people in Lango, Busoga, Bukedi, Nakasongola and a little bit of Teso,” Museveni said, amid cheers from the crowd at Amolatar Secondary School Playgrounds.
In the past, fishing communities around the country have complained of brutality meted out to them by the Fisheries Protection Unit while many have reported to have been driven out of fishing, yet it is their livelihood.
The president previously said the army had been deployed to the lakes to fight bad fishing practices.
Speaking on Wednesday, Museveni suggested a solution that he said will be a win- win for both the fishing communities and the lakes.
He said he would help fishing communities turn to farming fish around the nearby swamps, which he said is lucrative.
Museveni said he started a similar initiative in Butaleja and helped communities start farming fish in wetlands.
“They would get six bags of rice out of an acre and they would sell this for shs1.3 million. We helped them make fish ponds on the peripheries of the swamp and now they earn more than shs60 million from an acre where they used to earn shs1.3 million. “
He was however quick to note that since this is capital intensive, government will help dig the fish ponds for the communities.
“You will earn much more from fish ponds. You will be able to get fish both for food and for sale. I will call MPs from fishing areas to see how we can allow some fishing for food(in the lake) as we wait for the a big fish project and how the indigenous people can do fishing without damaging fish in the lake.”
He said he would engage Members of Parliament from Amolatar, Busoga, Nakasongola, Busoga , some parts of Teso and others around Lake Edward areas to discuss how it can easily be pulled off to “avoid bumping into something I haven’t prepared for.”
Museveni however assured locals that government is going to start saccos for fishermen noting fishing requires more money than what the Parish Development Model currently provides.
“We shall start a separate fund for fishing communities.”