Prime
Illegal fish dealers to be fined Shs40 million
A Fisheries Protection Unit officer and a fishermen display fish on the shores of Lake Victoria. Four Kenyan children are being held in Uganda for engaging in illegal fishing on the lake. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- The Bill—presented by the chairperson of the parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Ms Janet Okori-Moe—was passed amidst protestations.
Parliament on Wednesday night passed the Fisheries and Aquaculture Bill that among others prescribes a Shs40m fine or jail sentence of two years for those found selling fish without a government licence.
The Bill—presented by the chairperson of the parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Ms Janet Okori-Moe—was passed amidst protestations.
Ms Okori-Moe nonetheless proceeded, insisting that “the current fine and penalty is too harsh and not commensurate with the offence” of trading in fish or fish products without a fish monger’s licence.
Before the provision was endorsed, a section of lawmakers attempted to whittle down the Shs40m fine. They reasoned that most fish vendors and mongers operate on shoestring budgets.
“A monger is like a hawker, who only uses capital not exceeding Shs1m,” Mr Charles Tabandeke (Bbale County) said, adding: “We have these women who are carrying fish…some of them aren’t even using Shs50,000, we can’t exert on them a fine of Shs40m. I suggest 20 currency points (Shs400,000) on this specific clause.”
Ms Hellen Adoa, the junior Fisheries minister, however reasoned that penalties by their very nature are supposed to be prohibitive.
“I am equally representing people who are fishermen. While a fishmonger or fish trader shouldn’t be given harsh penalties, we [also] want the lake to be sustained,”Ms Adoa said of the tough balancing act she has to make.
The minister’s position was supported by House Speaker Anita Among who chaired the plenary session.
“We also need to do something that would prohibit these people from doing this kind of thing,” Ms Among said.
The Deputy Attorney General, Mr Jackson Kafuuzi also echoed these sentiments.
“The law shouldn’t be made to massage people’s wrongs; it should be made to prohibit the wrong act they are doing. But we should also be considerate of their stand at a particular moment, it is only the judicial officer who is in position to determine this person’s fate,” Mr Kafuuzi said, adding, “That is why the judicial officer has power to say this much or less. That is why the law says ‘not exceeding.’ So this is the bar they can give lesser amounts.”
The same sitting also made it illegal for anyone to transports fish and its products without licence. Such an offender will be slapped with either a Shs40m fine or two-year jail sentence.
The lawmakers also made clear—in a vote—their opposition to the government’s position of deploying soldiers on water bodies. Ms Okori-Moe suggested that police officers instead be deployed on the water bodies.
“The Uganda Police is best placed to conduct the training of the Surveillance Unit since it is responsible for preserving law and order, and the protection of life and property,” she reasoned.
Ms Adoa admitted that she too has “issues with [deployment of] the soldiers on the lake” but was quick to add a caveat. “I have had challenges where the soldiers arrest the suspects and when they take them to the police, the police get money and the next morning the suspects are back on the lake,” she revealed.
