EAC partner states agree to utilize €15 million from the German government to combat pollution.
by Blue Africa News
East African Community (EAC) partner states have agreed to strengthen maritime safety and environmental protection across Lake Victoria, including the utilization of €15 million from the German government to combat pollution.
The resolution was reached during the 1st extraordinary sectoral council meeting on Lake Victoria of the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) held in Kisumu on October 6-8, bringing together Permanent or Principal Secretaries from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan, with delegates being brought up to speed on the progress of the establishment of regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCCs).
Construction of three main MRCCs is ongoing in Mwanza (Tanzania), Kisumu (Kenya), and Entebbe (Uganda), with Mwanza set to be launched first in the near future.
Similarly, 16 smaller search and rescue stations will be established along the lake’s shoreline (9 in Uganda, 4 in Kenya and 3 in Tanzania) with a view of spearheading maritime safety.
Addressing the press on the last day of the meeting, the chairperson – Kenya’s Principal Secretary for EAC Affairs Caroline Karugu said it was regrettable that 5,000 East Africans lose their lives annually on Lake Victoria.
“Data that we have seen from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies indicates that we are losing to the tune of 5,000 East Africans yearly on Lake Victoria. One death in East Africa is one too many especially when they are, in our view, preventable deaths,” said Karugu.
50% percent of those who perish, she noted, are fishermen, adding that everything humanly possible must be done to ensure safe transport and fishing on Africa’s largest freshwater Lake.
Construction of the MRCC in Mwanza started in December 2023 to a tune of US$1.8 million, with the governments of Uganda and Tanzania through LVBC with support from the African Development Bank (AfDB) procuring a contractor to design and build the centre.
Construction of the centre is now 98% complete, according to Dr. Masinde Bwire, LVBC Executive Secretary. He said that construction of all the three centres in East Africa will cost US$38 million.
During the Kisumu meeting, the council approved utilization of a €15 million grant from the government of Germany through KfW, earmarked for efforts to reduce pollution and promote sustainable management of the lake’s ecosystem.
“We have been able to agree as partner states on how to utilize this money once again to ensure our lake is both sustainable and safe for East Africans, and that we can enjoy the great resource that it is to our people,” said Karugu.
“As you know, pollution is a big and a major problem and a challenge within the region. By approving these funds and allocating them to battle pollution, sanitation issues, you are contributing largely to reverse the trend of the pollution that we are suffering today,” added Dr. Bwire.
Karugu announced that EAC will soon unveil a toll-free code 110 emergency line for lake users, which will be accessible across all partner states for safety and security on the lake.
Lake Victoria, shared by Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya is a critical resource for fisheries, freshwater and transportation, supporting millions of livelihoods but it has for long been plagued by maritime accidents linked to poor communication infrastructure and limited rescue capacity within the three countries.
Oliver Ochieng, Blue Africa News