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{
    "id": 57937,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/57937/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 153,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kajembe",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Environment and Mineral Resources",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 163,
        "legal_name": "Ramadhan Seif Kajembe",
        "slug": "ramadhan-kajembe"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. (a) Yes, I am aware that water hyacinth and accompanying vegetation has drifted back and temporarily paralyzed transport and fishing operations in some beaches of Lake Victoria. Some parts of Nyatike District are affected, particularly Luanda K’Onyango Beach at the Kuja River estuary. (b) My Ministry is in the process of engaging the beach communities in manual removal of water hyacinth at the shores of Lake Victoria, covering the Winam Gulf and other areas that are badly affected by water hyacinth, including Nyatike District. However, to protect the degradation of the shoreline we are not encouraging the clearance of vegetation along the shore. It should be noted that manual removal of water hyacinth in the Lake Victoria is a temporary measure. Other water hyacinth control measures include biological and mechanical control. These measures will be part and parcel of a strategy that is being developed currently by the regional governments, spearheaded by the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) secretariat in Kisumu. Water Hyacinth Management Strategy which is expected to be completed in a year’s time is a long-term measure aimed at controlling water hyacinth in the lake to a non-nuisance level. It is developed under the Lake Victoria Environment Management Project, Phase II, a programme co-ordinated by my Ministry and funded by the World Bank and the Government of Kenya. In conclusion, for effective and sustainable control of the water hyacinth and other infestations of Lake Victoria, and other water bodies in the region and, indeed, the entire country, it is the responsibility of every leader to encourage their constituents to jointly participate in the protection and conservation of the environment and in addressing any problem that affects them. The Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) could be used for such activities which contribute directly to community’s socio-economic and livelihood improvement. There is also need to sensitize all the communities living near riparian reserves to engage in sound agricultural land use practices in order to cut down on sedimentation load and flow of fertilizers into water bodies and subsequently to Lake Victoria. This will in turn reduce the pollution load in the lake, thus reducing proliferation of water hyacinth, which derives its food from deposited nutrients."
}