Leaders probe landing sites operating illegally

Leaders in Masaka District are investigating reports that some landing sites, which were closed seven years ago, are operating in secret, Daily Monitor has established.
Of the 13 landing sites in Masaka District, nine were closed in 2017 on account of operating illegally.

These include Kafuga, Kyondo, Kisonzi, Mutemante, Kyasa, Mumpu, Senero, Gwamba and Nakiga.
However, district authorities say fishermen at some of these landing sites sneak into the lake and fish, especially at night.
“Such reports [of illegal landing sites operating] have been coming and we are investigating to establish the truth,” Mr Peter Ssenkungu, the chairperson of the district finance committee, said in an interview on Sunday.

Mr Ssenkungu said the closure of these landing sites greatly affected the district revenue as more than Shs200 million is lost every financial year.
This implies that the district has lost Shs1.4b in revenue in the last seven years.
Ever since the landing sites were closed, there has been a lot of public outcry from the business community on the affected landing site, saying they were deprived of their sole livelihood.

Other businesses that were affected include bars, shops, restaurants, and fuel stations which were operating on the landing sites.
It was also alleged that some unscrupulous individuals are collecting money from unsuspecting fishermen as revenue but they do not remit it to the district treasury.

“Revenue collected from landing sites is supposed to be paid to recognised tenderers who send it to the respective sub-counties,’’ Mr Ssenkungu said.
This comes at a time when the district is considering reopening some of the landing sites which have since complied with the required standards.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, a recognised landing site must be fenced off, have a known registered number of fishermen (not less than 30), standard boats and recognised fishing gear among others.

Some of the landing sites which have met the required standards, according to Mr Fredrick Egesa, the Masaka District fisheries officer, include Kyasa, Gwamba Nakiga and Senero. 
“We have managed to sensitise fishermen about the required standards of operation and very soon these landing sites will be reopened. This will also help to boost our local revenue,” he said.

Mr Tom Bukenya, the director for fisheries resources in the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, said the district leadership reached out to them seeking permission to officially reopen some of the closed landing sites.

“They[district leadership] wrote to us and we gave them the required standards but we don’t know how far they have gone with implementation since they have not contacted us to check on their compliance,’’ he said.