Mpigi leaders task govt on stalled fish project

Leaders in Mpigi District have tasked the government to explain the delayed multi-billion fish farming project, which was expected to commence four years ago.

In 2019, the government gave a green light to two investment groups; one from Hungary and another from China; to set up separate multi-billion fish farms around the River Katonga area in Mpigi District.
According to the plan, the government committed itself to offer over 600 hectares of land in the fragile water catchment area to support the investors’ projects.

Government had also promised to set up  fish ponds, fish feeds production machines and a fish processing factory.
Under the plan the government had projected to boost the fish production in Uganda to at least 1million metric tonnes. Currently, the country produces 120,000 metric tonnes of fish per year.
“Ever since the project was unveiled, we have not seen government officials coming to us to implement it. Even the investors have never approached us,” Mr Moses Kanyalutokye, the Mpigi Chief Administrative officer, said in an interview on Monday.

Mr Kanyalutokye said River Katonga area (in Mpigi District) had been identified  as one of the potential areas, and the government had projected to   use a nucleus model where  investors will have local fish farmers as satellite groups to benefit from the projects.
The Hungarian investors had promised to invest Shs22 billion yet the Chinese were to inject Shs1.4 trillion in relatively similar separate projects.

Before rolling out the project, the Mpigi District chairperson, Mr Martin Ssejemba,   advised the government to first sensitise  residents on how to carry out fish farming in an ecologically sensitive area.
“It is true such a project can benefit our people, but we need to sensitise them first to ensure that they don’t destroy the environment in the targeted ecologically sensitive area,” he said.

In response, Ms Hellen Adoa, the State minister for Fisheries, said she needed more time to consult the technical team at the ministry who were directly involved in the project implementation .
“There could have been some challenges which led to a delay but  give me time to find out what exactly  befell that project,” she said by telephone yesterday.

In 2019,  government  together with the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO)  unveiled a Shs834m joint project to support fishing communities around Lake Victoria. The project aims at improving the livelihoods of fishing communities in the districts of Masaka ,Kalangala and Kalungu who were affected by government crackdown on illegal fishing .

Background
 Some 30 million people in East Africa depend on Lake Victoria for their livelihoods, but the continued use of illegal fishing gear is also seriously hurting the lake. Conservationists have on several occasions  warned that if catching immature fish is not checked, Lake Victoria will have its key fish stock depleted in the next 30 years and people around will have to find other means of survival.