KISUMU, Kenya May 29 – Fishermen in Lake Victoria have appealed to President Uhuru Kenyatta to fast track the construction of a ring road along the lake.
Kenya Beach Management Unit chairman Tom Guda said the project was mooted several years ago with little success.
It was dubbed Lake Victoria Ring Road and was to be constructed from Bumula in Busia County to Muhuru Bay in Migori County transversing Siaya, Kisumu and Homa Bay Counties.
Guda said the World Bank project has taken long to kick off and has appealed to the President who is set to visit Nyanza region next week to intervene.
President Kenyatta is expected in Kisumu from Sunday ahead of the Madaraka Day celebrations set fo June 1.
Speaking to the journalists in Kisumu on Friday, Guda said the ring road is key for the development of fisheries in the region.
He says the fishing sector has faced a myriad of challenges, one of them being poor road networks to link fish landing beaches to the market.
Guda said if constructed, the ring road will be a reprieve to fishermen who face post-harvest losses on their catch.
He further asked President Kenyatta to use his position as the current chairman of the East African Community to end harassment of fishermen in the lake.
Guda noted that there are harmonized laws that other EAC partner states are not adhering to and instead frustrate fishermen in the lake.
