President Yoweri Museveni has committed to rolling out the Fisheries fund to support fishermen with affordable credit for fishing gear.
While meeting leaders of fishermen from the different parts of Uganda at the State lodge in Jinja City on Tuesday, Museveni noted that this fund will enable the already sensitised fishermen to transition into acceptable legal fishing gears.
Museveni made this commitment while responding to fishermen who urged him to champion efforts to empower them to quit illegal fishing.
Led by Jackson Mulindambura, the chairperson of Lake Albert Silver fishers association, they say that setting up a complete boat, which is well equipped with legal fishing gears, requires about 10 Million Shillings.
Mulindambura says that most fishermen cannot afford this fee, and a number have resolved to keep sneaking through illegal fishing as a means of survival.
Mulindambura argues that the ongoing affirmative programs of the parish development model (PDM) and Emyoga are inefficient in financing fishing activities, which he says are highly capital-intensive. “PDM is very good for small-scale farmers, but not viable for fishermen whose trade requires much capital to kickstart and sustainably operationalise,” he says.
In response, Museveni said that the fund will be given to all interested fishermen across the major water bodies of Lake Victoria, Lake Kyoga, Lake Albert, Lake George and the River Nile.
Museveni notes that these funds shall be deposited into the Sacco accounts of different fisheries associations across the country’s major water bodies. He reveals that, to ensure the fund’s accessibility to all fishermen without any hurdles, an estimated One Billion Shillings shall be disbursed to the different sub-regions hosting the country’s major water bodies.
This, Museveni hopes, will enable fishermen to access low-cost credit facilities to afford the acceptable fishing gears, which will contribute to the sustainability of the fisheries industry.
Museveni further noted that, just like the “balalo,” are taking the lead in dairy farming and living to oversee desirable growth within the industry, their findings have deemed it fit for the indigenous communities to take charge of the wild fishing on the country’s major water bodies, as others follow suit.
He cited the indigenous communities like the Bakenyi in Eastern Uganda and parts of the North, coupled with the Banyaruguru and Batagwenda in western Uganda, among others, who have the necessary skills required in managing fisheries resources compared to other individuals looking for survival traits in this field.
Museveni argued that indigenous fishing communities with the necessary skills to protect the water bodies can team up with investors to jointly multiply the fishing industry.
He added that these fishing communities can be supported by the fisheries protection unit enforcement teams to sustainably safeguard their acquired gains in the fisheries sector as a key driver to economic growth.
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