PRESIDENT JOHN MAGUFULI UPS ILLEGAL FISHING FIGHT

President John Magufuli is joined by the Minister of Works, Transport and Communications, Engineer Isack Kamwelwe, to cut a ribbon to launch construction of the 121 Km Nyamuswa-Bunda-Kisorya-Nansio road at Kisory Bunda in Mara Region on Tuesday. Third left is Mara Regional Commissioner, Adam Malima.

Ukerewe - President John Magufuli has stressed preservation of fish in Lake Victoria and warned against illegal fishing and use of banned equipment, which is responsible for depleting fish stocks in the largest fresh-water body in Africa.

Speaking at a public rally here on Tuesday, Dr Magufuli pointed out that fish resources in the water body had to be preserved for present and future generations, as they were well-preserved in the yesteryears by the old generations.

Illegal fishing and use of banned equipment such as monofilament and undersized fishing lines have been blamed for decreasing stock in Lake Victoria since they trap even small fish, according to President Magufuli.

“In the past, one could carry just one fish on a bicycle due to its huge size, but now people are resorting to fishing immature fish and this threatens the existence of the resources and some species are on the verge of becoming extinct,” he stated.

Dr Magufuli as well took issues with collapse of fish industries in Mwanza, pointing that there were about 11 industries which provided millions of jobs to people, but the factories have since been closed, partly due to decreasing stock of fish.

Before the public rally, Dr Magufuli launched a 10.9bn/- water project in Nansio, which is billed to end water woes in the island. It will have the capacity to produce 8.9 million litres of water against the demand of 4.6 million litres in Ukerewe.

The water project on the Island, which is surrounded by Lake Victoria, was funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the government of Tanzania.

After launching the project, Dr Magufuli proceeded at Murutunguru Teachers’ Training College which has been improved and expanded and upgraded to start teaching diploma courses, with President Magufuli hinting that it could be upgraded further to become a branch of a university.

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