Dokolo: Museveni to meet fishing communities in May

DOKOLO, March 20, 2024 – President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has promised to meet elders of the fishing communities surrounding Lake Kwania and Kyoga in May this year following allegations of mistreatment by officers of the Fisheries Protection Unit [FPU].

The President made the pronouncement during the president’s visit to Dokolo district to drum up support for the National Resistant Movement [NRM] candidate, Janet Adongo Elau, who is contesting in tomorrow’s by-election to replace the former Dokolo Woman Member of Parliament Cecilia Ogwal who died early this year.

According to the local fishermen, FPU, a unit Uganda People’s Defence Forces [UPDF] which is tasked to combat illegal fishing on Ugandan lakes, continues to intimidate them even when they have not committed any fishing crime.

The FPU have powers of inspection and search, including the powers to seizure of fish and fish products unfit for human consumption.

Lakes Kwania and Kyoga serve communities  in the districts of Dokolo, Kwania, Apac, Nakasongola, and Masindi among others.

Speaking during the campaigns yesterday Museveni blamed the local fishermen catching immature fish, saying the vice has affected the quality of fish the country needs.

“You see the problem of fishing starts with the fishing communities. These lakes are given to you by God, but he gave them for us to use them properly, but we have allowed the lakes to be invaded by the foreigners. I hear, they come to eat even the small fish, the fishing communities have allowed the immature fish to be eaten and that’s how the army came in. Otherwise the army would never have been involved in fishing activities. And when they came in they made their own mistakes,” Museveni said.

He also said that catching the immature fish on the lakes affects the country’s revenue collection and the operation of the fish processing factories.

“This is very dangerous for our country because when the fish industry was doing well, we had 22 factories processing fish, we were earning almost US$ 200 million from fish. By the time I brought in soldiers, all factories had closed except 8 and when the soldiers came in, although they are making mistakes, fish have come back somehow. Now we have 12 factories operating,” he said.

He said that the UPDF can only be removed from the lake when elders agree to take charge in a conference to take place in May.

“In the month of May, I will meet the elders, the Ministry of State for Northern Uganda can coordinate them. That is Nakasongala side, Busoga, Amolatar, and Dokolo, we shall have a conference, and then we remove the soldiers and handover the lakes to people if the elders can take charge. I will take away the soldiers…,” he said.

Jacob Opio Angeny, one of the elders from Dokolo district admitted that people used to catch immature fish due to financial challenges.

Angeny however said locals stopped catching small fish when the presidential directive on fishing was imposed on the lakes.

“People who were catching immature fish were doing it because they had problems of money, but when you imposed the law regulating fishing of the immature fish and use of illegal fishing gears, people have started using the recommended fishing gears but the poverty was and is still increasing. Now we are going to get more elders to protect the lake so that the soldiers can go away and we enjoy our lakes,” Angeny said.

Tonny Angela, a resident of Anerolibi village, Okwongodul Sub-county, Dokolo district said more training sensitisation should be done for the people carrying out fishing as a business.

“It would be good if people are brought to help train us on how to use the lake in terms of fishing,” Angela said.

Meanwhile, other candidates vying to replace the late Ogwal tomorrow as Dokolo District Woman MP are Dr. Rosemary Austin Alwoc Ogwal [daughter] from the opposition Forum for Democratic Change [FDC], Sarah Aguti from Uganda People’s Congress [UPC], and Harriet Ageno from the National Unity Platform [NUP]. The others are Esther Akullo Obot, and Rebecca Arao all running on  independent ticket.

https://thecooperator.news/new-research-okays-use-of-solar-lights-for-fishing/

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