Machine worth shs 81M to remove Water hyacinth handed over to LBDA

The Machine for removing Water Hyacinth in Lake Victoria that has been handed over to the Lake Basin Development Authority in Kisumu by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry-Photo By Dickson Odhiambo

 By Dickson Odhiambo

January 23, 2021

 Machine worth shs 81M to remove Water hyacinth handed over to LBDA

The Ministry of Environment and Forestry has officially handed over a machine meant to mechanically remove water hyacinth from Lake Victoria to the management of the Lake Basin Development Authority.

The Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Dr. Chris Kiptoo says the machine was purchase by the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Two {LVEMP II} at an estimated shs 81 million.

Addressing the press at the Kisumu Port during the handing over ceremony, the PS said the ministry has also handed over two tipper lorries worth shs 10Million each alongside the water hyacinth removal equipment that were purchased through the LVEMP II in the year 2013.

“The machine together with the two tipper Lorries is about shs 100 million and we have handed them over to the Lake Basin Development Authority for the management of the Water hyacinth,” Dr. Kiptoo says.

The Principal Secretary says the Ministry of Environment has a feeling that the issue of managing the dreaded water hyacinth can best be done by the Lake Basin Development Authority because it covers more counties.

The PS says the Ministry had identified the Lake Victoria under LVEMP II as a major resource within the region, adding the issue of water hyacinth has been a menace since the year in the year 1990 when it invaded the Lake Victoria.

He says the issue of pollution of the Lake Victoria has aided the growth of the weed, adding that there are measures being put in place to ensure that the Lake Victoria is not heavily polluted.

“Two approaches has been applied like the preventive approach where we have tried to work on the pollution control hence less pollution into the Lake. There is curative measure where we are using the biological control which is a long term measure to control the water hyacinth as well as mechanical harvesting of the weed,” he says

The PS says the issue that had risen on the purchase of the machine has now been sorted hence necessitated the handing over of the equipment to the Authority.

“Initially, there was a contractual issue between the Ministry and the supplier of the Equipment. This made us to even incorporate the Ministry of Finance, the office of the Attorney General’s office and the Ministry among others to help so this issue,” the PS further says.

He says there is now an asset transfer has been done, adding that this has now led to the handing over the equipment to the LBDA.

Lake Basin Development Authority Board Chairman Odoyo Owidi says the authority is very much ready for the takeover of the equipment.

He says the Authority will allow any Government agency to use the machine by borrowing from it.

 

ENDS.