The fishing community at Masese Landing Site in Jinja City is urgently calling for the expansion and redevelopment of their landing site to meet international standards. This appeal comes in response to the rising water levels of Lake Victoria, which have caused significant flooding in the area.
Many homes and kiosks, which serve as shops, have been partially submerged, forcing the owners to abandon them. The community believes that expanding and redeveloping the landing site is necessary to address these issues.
This plea was made during a meeting with the parliamentary committee on agriculture, animal industry, and fisheries at Masese Landing Site on Tuesday. The committee was led by Janet Grace Akech Okori-Moe, the chairperson and Abim District Woman Member of Parliament.
During the meeting, the fishing community highlighted several problems, including the urgent need to expand and redevelop the landing site to reduce congestion, the inadequate sanitation facilities, and the poor condition of the Jinja-Walukuba-Masese road, which is full of gullies and hampers the transportation of goods.
Jinja City Woman MP Manjeri Kyebakutika also attended the meeting. She presented additional challenges faced by the lake users, such as alleged harassment by the army’s Fisheries Protection Unit and the need for new structures at the landing site.
Nathan Igeme Nabeta, the MP for Jinja South East, urged the committee to support the redevelopment of the landing site and to back a project that would provide the youth with approved fishing gear. He mentioned that he is in talks with the works ministry to improve the Jinja-Walukuba-Masese road.
Asinansi Nyakato, Hoima City Woman MP and shadow agriculture minister, referred to the new Fisheries and Aquaculture Act 2022, which requires the government to remove the UPDF Fisheries Protection Unit from its enforcement role. She stated that the act establishes a Fisheries Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance Unit within the directorate, which has the power to search and arrest. Nyakato emphasized that the UPDF unit needs to be removed from Lake Victoria as mandated by the act.
In response to the allegations of harassment, Maj. Ronald Akandwanaho, commander of the UPDF Fisheries Protection Unit in Eastern Uganda, denied any torture claims. He stated that any incidents of torture or killings would have been reported by local leaders and that no such complaints have been received.
Janet Grace Akech Okori-Moe noted that the committee’s visit was an oversight mission to understand the challenges faced by the fishing communities. She assured that a report would be prepared and presented to Parliament for solutions.
Okori-Moe also advised Jinja legislators to explore other funding options for the redevelopment of the landing site, such as tapping into the Climate Smart Agriculture funds available in the agriculture ministry, as waiting for government funds might take longer.
