Chief Editor (Page 48)

By REUTERS

China’s flagship economic cooperation programme is bouncing back after a lull during the global pandemic, with Africa a primary focus, according to a Reuters analysis of lending, investment and trade data.

Chinese leaders have been citing the billions of dollars committed to new construction projects and record two-way trade as evidence of their commitment to assist with the continent’s modernisation and foster “win-win” cooperation.

But the data reveals a more complex relationship, one that is still largely extractive and has so far failed to live up to some of Beijing’s rhetoric about the Belt and Road Initiative, President Xi Jinping’s strategy to build an infrastructure network connecting China to the world.

While new Chinese investment in Africa increased 114 percent last year, according to the Griffith Asia Institute at Australia’s Griffith University, it was heavily focused on minerals essential to the global energy transition and China’s plans to revive its own flagging economy.

Those minerals and oil also dominated trade. As efforts falter to boost other imports from Africa, including agricultural products and manufactured goods, the continent’s trade deficit with China has ballooned.

Read: How Africa can deal with global rush for its minerals

Advertisement

Chinese sovereign lending, once the main source of financing for Africa’s infrastructure, is at its lowest level in two decades. And public-private partnerships (PPPs), which China has touted as its new preferred investment vehicle globally, have yet to gain traction in Africa.

The result is a more one-sided relationship than China says it wants, one that is dominated by imports of Africa’s raw materials and that some analysts argue contains echoes of colonial-era Europe’s economic relations with the continent.

“This is something late-19th century Britain would recognise,” said Eric Olander, co-founder of the China-Global South Project website and podcast.

China rejects such assertions.

“Africa has the right, capacity and wisdom to develop its external relations and choose its partners,” China’s foreign ministry wrote in response to Reuters’ questions.

“China’s practical support for Africa’s path of modernisation in accordance with its own characteristics has been welcomed by an increasing number of African countries.”

Unprofitable projects

China’s engagement in Africa, a focus of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), grew rapidly in the two decades before the Covid-19 pandemic. Chinese companies built ports, hydropower plants and railways across the continent, financed mainly through sovereign loans. Annual lending commitments peaked at $28.4 billion in 2016, according to the Global China Initiative at Boston University.

But many projects proved unprofitable. As some governments struggled to repay loans, China cut lending. Covid-19 then pushed it to turn inward, and Chinese construction projects in Africa fell.

A rebound in sovereign lending is not expected.

Policymakers in Beijing have instead been pushing Chinese companies to take equity stakes and operate infrastructure they build for foreign governments. The aim, China analysts say, is to help companies win higher-value contracts and, by giving them skin in the game, ensure the projects are economically viable.

Lending to Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), perhaps the most common means of PPP infrastructure investment, has been growing as a proportion of China’s overseas loans, according to figures shared exclusively with Reuters by AidData, a research centre at U.S. university William & Mary.

Read: China: The ‘other player’ in 2024 Afcon tournament

The $668-million Nairobi Expressway, a public-private partnership built and run by the state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), could be proof of concept for the model in Africa.

Since it opened in August 2022, the toll road has been allowing commuters to speed above the Kenyan capital’s notorious traffic snarls, beating revenue and usage targets.

Daily average use in March was already 57,000 vehicles, exceeding a 2049 target of around 55,000 set by CRBC in a 2019 presentation on the project’s economic viability seen by Reuters.

But few companies are following CRBC’s example in Africa. While globally some 45 per cent of Chinese non-emergency lending was to SPVs from 2018 to 2021, the most recent year for which AidData figures are available, the figure was only 27 per cent for Africa.

Analysts point to a number of likely reasons, including a lack of legal frameworks for PPPs in many African countries and the view among some Chinese companies – many of them relative newcomers to PPPs – that African markets are risky.

China’s foreign ministry did not directly address a request for comment on the lower SPV figures for Africa. But it said the government encourages Chinese companies to “actively develop new modes of cooperation” such as PPPs to bring more private investment to Africa.

Growing engagement

The Griffith Asia Institute put China’s total engagement in Africa – a combination of construction contracts and investment commitments – at $21.7 billion last year, making it the largest regional recipient.

Data from the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based think tank, showed investments hitting nearly $11 billion in 2023, the highest level since it began tracking Chinese economic activity in Africa in 2005.

Some $7.8 billion of that went to mining, like Botswana’s Khoemacau copper mine, which China’s MMG Ltd bought for $1.9 billion, and cobalt and lithium mines in countries including Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The hunt for critical minerals is driving infrastructure construction as well. In January, for example, Chinese companies pledged up to $7 billion in infrastructure investment under a revision of their copper and cobalt joint venture agreement with Democratic Republic of Congo.

Western and Gulf powers are also racing to lead the world’s energy transition, with the United States and European governments backing the Lobito Corridor, a rail link to bring metals from Zambia and Congo to Africa’s Atlantic coast.

African leaders have struggled, however, to raise financing for some other priority projects.

Despite the success of the Nairobi Expressway, for example, work on several Kenyan roads stalled when the government ran out of money to pay the Chinese construction firms.

During a visit to Beijing last October, President William Ruto asked for a $1 billion loan to complete the projects.

Read: US: Kenya pawn in China’s supremacy agenda

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, said discussions about the request were ongoing. Kenya’s finance ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

The final phase of a railway line intended to traverse Kenya from its main port to the border with Uganda has been in similar limbo since Chinese financing dried up in 2019. Uganda cancelled the contract for its portion of the line in 2022, after Chinese backers pulled out.

When asked about the decline in lending for African infrastructure, Chinese officials point to a pivot to trade and investment, arguing that BRI-generated trade boosts Africa’s wealth and development.

Two-way trade reached a record $282 billion last year, according to Chinese customs data. But at the same time, the value of Africa’s exports to China fell 7 per cent, mainly due to a decline in oil prices, and its trade deficit widened 46 per cent.

Chinese officials have sought to assuage the concerns of some African leaders.

At a summit in Johannesburg last August, Xi said Beijing would launch initiatives to support the continent’s manufacturing and agricultural modernisation – sectors African policymakers consider key to closing trade gaps, diversifying their economies and creating jobs.

China has also pledged to increase agricultural imports from Africa.

Such efforts, for now, are coming up short.

Read: Why China is hesitant to finance Africa energy projects

With one of Africa’s largest trade deficits to China, Kenya has been pushing to increase access to the world’s second-largest consumer market, recently gaining it for avocados and seafood. But cumbersome health and hygiene regulations mean Chinese consumers remain out of reach for many producers.

“The Chinese market is a new one,” said Ernest Muthomi, CEO of the Avocado Society of Kenya. “It was a challenge because you have to install the equipment for fumigation.”

Of 20 billion shillings ($150.94 million) worth of avocados exported last year, just 10 per cent went to China.

Overall, Kenyan exports to China fell over 15 per cent to $228 million, Chinese customs data showed, as a decline in titanium production led to a drop in shipments of the metal – a key export to China.

But Chinese manufactured goods kept coming.

That’s not sustainable, said Francis Mangeni, an advisor at the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Unless African nations can add value to their exports through increased processing and manufacturing, he said, “we are just exporting raw minerals to fuel their economy.”

Continue Reading

IN a continued move to support the government’s efforts of encouraging the use of clean cooking energy, the Oryx Gas Tanzania Ltd yesterday donated 800 gas cylinders and stoves to residents in Morogoro Rural constituency.

The handing over of the donation in collaboration with an MP for the area, Mr Hamisi Taletale, was done at the sideline of the CCM’s regional conference.

The meeting, graced by the party’s national vice chairman (mainland), Mr Abdulrahman Kinana, was attended by different leaders.

Speaking on behalf of the OGTL’s Managing Director Benoit Araman, company’s Head of Bulk Consumer Sales, Mr Richard Sawere said the donation was meant to support efforts by President Samia Suluhu Hassan who envisions that by the year 2030, she wants to see 80 per cent of Tanzanians use clean energy for cooking. Mr Sawere noted that their company donated the gas cylinders and stoves in order to save the environment and protect people’s health from the charcoal and firewood.

“Our wish is to ensure that all Tanzanians abandon the use of firewood and charcoal,” he said.

Initially, when providing education on safe use of gas, Sales Manager Peter Ndomba said the company recognizes the importance of using gas for cooking. “This is a national campaign which President Samia launched with the aim of making many Tanzanians use clean energy for cooking,” Mr Ndomba stated.

He appealed to citizens to ensure they follow instructions on proper use of the gas stoves to prevent fire accidents triggered by the cooking gas.

Source: allafrica.com

Continue Reading

Continue Reading

Mwanza — NAVIGATING the waters of the mighty Lake Victoria for a catch is becoming a wrestling operation among Tanzanian fishermen.

Six out of 12 registered fish processing plants are dormant. The six others – Nile Perch, Vick Fish, TFP, VICTORIA, MZAWA and Mwanza Fish – are also operating at less than 30 percent of their capacity, according to the fishers and the processors association.

Fishermen who used to catch 500 kilograms per day are now struggling to catch five kilograms, most times returning empty-handed.

The majority of fishermen catch Nile perch, tilapia, haprochromis (furu) and silver cyprinid (dagaa), but Nile perch leads in exports and revenue.

Now, their lives and that of locals who depend on fishing activity in Mwanza, a port city on the shore of Lake Victoria in northern Tanzania, have turned into a lament, with poverty looming over them, if not already engulfing their existence.

This gripping tale unfolds in a region where 3.3 percent of the economy depends on fishing – a major decline from 7 percent in 2011. Locals and experts have quickly attributed the new reality to depleting fish stocks in the lake.

“There is no factory in Mwanza that is currently running double shifts. Local factories now get their supplies at least after two or three days each week,” said Tanzania’s Industrial Fishing and Processors Association (TIFPA) Executive Secretary, Onesmo Sulle.

READ: Lake Victoria faces intensive overfishing

All of this, thanks to illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing activities. The activities have lowered the average daily catch to less than five kilograms in a span of just 10 years.

A spot survey to these factories between December 2023 and January 2024 noted limited activities with no signs of regular factory operations.

Some factories including Vick Fish and Tan Perch were closed, and security personnel declined to give a comment.

These factories provided direct and indirect jobs to tens of hundreds of people around the Lake.

The TIFPA Executive Secretary, Onesmo Sulle, could not provide details on the list of factories that have ceased operations, but explained that those in operation are no longer making profit.

“The factories are operating under very low capacity. They are alive because they must repay their loan and equity,” he said.

In Mwanza and elsewhere around Lake Victoria, the fishing industry relies on a special link between local factories and banks.

Factories get loans to run their operations, which, in turn, are extended to support local fishermen through provisions of fishing gear, fuel, food, and other essential expenses.

The fishermen are, therefore, required to supply fish to the factory equivalent to the value of the financial support.

This mutually beneficial arrangement hinges on the successful operation of both parties. In fact, if a factory closes down, money given to the fishermen goes away, but also when fishers fail to meet the supply target, the factory is at risk of failing to repay its loans, potentially leading to bankruptcy.

Masumbuko Polla, Anold Mashimba, and Magesa Jackson, once self-acclaimed top fishermen of Lake Victoria, who each ran a fleet of more than 50 fishing boats and camps in Musoma (in Mara region), Sengerema, Ukerewe, and Magu (both in Mwanza region) and Kalebe in Kagera region, have all declared bankruptcy.

There are hundreds of other fishers who have also publicly gone off the fishing radar.

Polla had dedicated 25 years of his life to fishing but said he had to call it quits following Operation Sangara.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Development in Tanzania introduced this initiative in 2017, which significantly improved fish stocks in Lake Victoria by confiscating illegal fishing gear, arresting more than 1,000 individuals, and reducing illegal fishing activities from 60 to 25 percent.

According to the fisherman, the operation destroyed a significant portion of his properties. “The repercussions were profound…” Polla said.

Today, Polla said he was spending at least 40 liters of petrol to catch a mere seven kilograms of fish, sometimes not getting anything.

“That becomes a more challenging and unsustainable endeavor for me with no hope for revival. I had to make the difficult decision to transition to farming,” he said.

The prevalence of illegal fishing across the lake has left Polla and many other fishermen disillusioned about the prospects of their return to the lake.

Mashimba echoed a similar sentiment to Polla, emphasizing the unfavorable cost-benefit ratio in the current fishing landscape.

READ: Growth of urbanisation threatens fish habitat

The Tanzania National Fisheries Policy of 2015 acknowledged illegal fishing as the second biggest challenge in managing the fisheries sector in the country.

Through this policy, the government vowed to establish a monitoring, control and surveillance system to combat illegalities within the sector as well as an authority to deal with conservation and protection of fisheries resources and environment in marine and freshwater areas.

Also, the government promised to collaborate with stakeholders to eliminate illegal and destructive fishing gears and practices.

This, however, is not the case with Lake Victoria, where fisheries account for more than 60 percent of the country’s total fish catches.

Fishermen here are increasingly deploying beach seines called “kokoro,” monofilament nets, trawlers, and gillnets with less than 17 millimeters mesh size — all being illegal fishing gears, according to Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (TAFIRI).

The authority to deal with conservation and protection of fisheries resources in freshwater has not been established. Fishermen also say monitoring, control and surveillance in the lake is seasonal, usually during special operations.

The Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Development, Abdallah Ulega, confirmed that less than 40 percent of the planned 8,400 patrols were conducted during the 2023/24 fiscal year.

However, he was quick to stress that the ministry plans to deploy 85 drones to patrol the country’s water bodies.

Official government figures by the Ministry of Finance reveal a sharp decline in exports of Nile Perch between 2019 and 2022.

From about 25,000 tons of Nile Perch valued at USD $128 million exported in 2011, these fish exports doubled in value by 2015, but then decreased due to escalating incidents of illegal fishing that depleted the fish stock.

Remedial efforts, including Operation Sangara I, II, and III, boosted revenues to Tsh 17.6 billion (USD $6.9 million) by 2019, and the country’s fish economy was at a high.

Nile Perch exports varied over 2011-2022

Lake Victoria’s Bounty

But from 2019, exports fell steadily. The most recent government survey report indicates that by 2022, revenues from Nile Perch exports had halved to Tsh 8.9 billion (USD $3.5 million).

Such a drop in revenue has also left families and communities that depend on fishing activities paralyzed.

“There are no fish,” said 65-year-old Paulina Misalaba, who resides in the Kigoto suburb of Sengerema district, around 56 kilometers from Mwanza.

“All of my entire life I have depended on this lake. Partly fishing and doing related activities. But now there are no fish and people are desperate,” Misalaba said.

Residents in this fishing community said they used to spend a few hours getting more than enough Tilapia and Nile perch a day.

But now, they are grappling with uncertainty, unsure whether to attribute the lack of fish to climate change, illegal fishing, government negligence in implementing stringent controls, or the indifference of their colleagues who fail to consider the consequences for tomorrow.

Alexander Onesmo, who has been making illegal fishing nets for the last six years in this area, said the depleting fish stock is a result of their collective actions.

Onesmo said while small-scale fishermen like him have limited options in the lake, large and medium-scale fishermen exploit every part of the lake.

“The government seems indifferent… I have no idea whether such indifference stems from their deep pockets or their tax payments,” said Onesmo, who was mending his new (illegal) fishing net.

“Even when we take these behemoths to the police, the entire trip turns into a maze of uncertainty.”

Onesmo and several other fishermen defend their beach seine nets, which are not permitted, as appropriate.

Sardine fishing a front to catch Nile perch

“Fishing is a hunting game,” Philemon Nsinda, a fisheries biologist and senior researcher at Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (TAFIRI) in Mwanza, told Daily News.

The advent of technology from basket traps and fence traps to the use of large trawl nets pulled by motorized boats has allowed fishermen to hunt in any waters.

However, the depleting fish stocks have resulted in regular clashes between dagaa (silver cyprinid or the Lake Victoria sardine) fishermen and their counterpart Nile perch fishermen.

Nsida blames the Nile perch fishermen for the problem. “These (Nile perch) fishermen are the architects of illegal fishing. They are all involved in illegal fishing,” he claimed.

He said the fishermen are increasingly using industrial fishing methods, trawling in the very limited lake pulling their mesh to dagaa fishers.

“Immediately after the nets reach the dagaa fisher, it [the net] is either cut or dumped into the lake or the catch being hauled.”

Trawling – a fishing method that involves towing a cone-shaped net through the water with a boat was introduced to the lake in 1998.

It is believed that fishermen using such a method help fishermen have a better chance of increasing their daily catch than those who station their fishing nets.

Tanzania’s freshwater fishing regulations are silent on the use of this net, which has resulted in increasing disputes among fishermen.

The Lake Victoria silver cyprinid or Rastrineobola argentea, mostly known by locals as dagaa, is a crucial source of nutrition for many low and even middle-income families in Tanzania.

The majority of fishermen in Lake Victoria today are involved in dagaa fishing, according to Juvenary Matagiri, the Chief Executive Director of the Fisher’s Union Organization (FUO) in Mwanza.

However, this freshwater sardine is also increasingly being used as a front for legalizing harmful fishing activities. A significant number of Nile perch fishermen are now opting for dagaa fishing with the ulterior motive of targeting Nile perch.

The Tanzanian state has officially sanctioned the use of designated fishing nets for dagaa extraction. While the 10 millimeter net is legal, the five millimeter net used by many fishermen is illegal.

Today, some Nile perch fishermen are using dagaa nets to catch Nile perch, instead of its legal net, which should have a mesh size exceeding 7 inches (177.8 millimeters). But the smaller nets catch baby Nile perch, which affects the species’ breeding capacity.

The most recent Lake Victoria Fisheries Frame Survey, published jointly by the Tanzanian Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development and the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO) in April 2023, shows that 98 percent of nets used by registered dagaa fishermen are small seines.

And almost all of these small seines have mesh sizes of five millimeters or less.

The East African Community (EAC) agreed that the minimum size for a caught Nile perch should be 50 centimeters. But “while many assert their involvement in dagaa fishing, that’s merely a side note.

They fish as small as less than 20 centimeters Nile perch in the name of fishing dagaa … and those fish are everywhere in the market and food joints,” Matagiri said.

Fishing dagaa here is an all-time booming business. The thriving dagaa fishing industry on the lake paints a dazzling scene at night.

Flying into Mwanza, the multitude of lights on the water used for fishing operations resembles the shimmering skyline of New York City.

From Kemondo in Bukoba to Mwanza through Musoma in the Mara region, the lights illuminate the way- thanks to busy dagaa fishermen.

From kerosene lanterns and lead-acid batteries to now solar-powered lanterns, fishermen use artificial lighting techniques to attract fish and capture dagaa during nighttime operations.

But the use of solar fishing lights and lead-acid batteries has caused confusion between fishermen, with the majority of dagaa fishers currently opting for the latter due to misconceptions and brighter illumination.

The Tanzania Fisheries and Research Institute has raised environmental concerns over the use of batteries that can potentially cause pollution, adversely affecting fish breeding and the lake’s biomass.

“If swift actions are not put in place urgently, the Nile perch population will perish in the years to come,” Matagiri warned.

READ: Fishery modernisation key to economic growth

According to TAFIRI, nearly half of the 500 different haplochromis “furu” species in Lake Victoria have disappeared, along with several other fish species such as some varieties of tilapia, partly as a result of the introduction of the predatory Nile perch in the lake during the 1950s-1960s.

But this institute reveals that the depleting number of Nile perch in the lake today has allowed several other fish species among the groups including tilapia and haplochromis to re-emerge.

Today, the Nile Perch processing factories that earlier ran two shifts are struggling to get at least five kilos of fish. Although factories are running short of fish stock supplies, the local market sees a sharp supply of fish, mostly undersized fish.

The largest Nile perch to be fished weighed 133.6 kilograms and had a length of 167 cm nearly two decades ago. Ongoing recent catches are less than 50 kilograms.

Fisheries Ecologist Enock Mlaponi detailed that Nile perch can grow to a length of nearly 200 centimeters, weighing 160 kilos or 360 pounds. The fish lay between 1.5-19 million small eggs, of which only one percent are fertilized and survive.

The fish can live up to 16 years and can start being harvested at the age of 18 months. Compounding stresses such as illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing (IUU), diseases, environmental degradation, climate change and lack of access to feed determine the aftermath of each fish in the lake.

Growing Asian demand for fish maw complicates overfishing

Industry players said that the shrinking size of Nile perch in the lake also results from the growing demand for fish maw (swim bladder) in the Asian markets.

The officer, who did not want her name to be revealed to protect her safety, said there has been a sharp demand for fish maw especially in India and China, which is pushing fishermen to hunt any size of Nile perch.

Jesca Adams, an ichthyologist from the University of Dar es Salaam, warned that harvesting premature Nile Perch diminishes the fish population’s reproductive capacity.

“It disrupts the age structure and contributes to a decline in overall fish size, leading to a shortage of mature Nile Perch in the ecosystem,” she said.

Fish maws are extracted from the Nile perch. In Mwanza, there are a few individuals involved in processing and exporting fish maw to Asia.

These individuals have set points near fishing camps and markets, where smallholder fishermen and fish sellers collect and sell the maw.

According to the Livestock and Fisheries Minister Abdallah Ulega, Tanzania laws and regulations only recognize fish maws as part of the general category of fish products, and legislation remains at large in supporting businessmen to benefit from this new lucrative business.

In Mwanza, a kilo of fish maw is sold at between Tsh.750,000 and 900,000 (around USD $350). A kilo of fish, in comparison, goes for only between Tsh.4,000 and 8,000. In China, according to Business Insider, a kilo can fetch between USD $450-1,000. Fish maw is a delicacy in China and is considered a symbol of wealth and prosperity.

Price Comparison of Nile Perch Fish and Fish Maw

While Tanzanian fishermen claim the maw is used as raw materials to produce sutures in China – sterile surgical threads used close incisions from surgery, in China it is often given as gifts at important events, consumed for its collagen components and is also stockpiled as an investment.

The former Ambassador of Tanzania to China, Mbelwa Kairuki, said in March last year that Tanzania was in discussion with Alibaba– a Chinese platform for global wholesale trade, to facilitate fish maw traders in Tanzania to get direct access to the Chinese market.

Nile perch maw is a highly valued fish product in the international market. Fish maw exports in the year 2019 contributed USD $77.9 million in Tanzania; USD $76.3 million in Uganda and USD $3.7 million in Kenya. The three countries exported an estimated total of 1,640.19 metric tons of Nile perch maws in 2019.

With this growing demand, fishermen in Tanzania are aggressively on the hunt for the Nile perch’s swim bladder.

A need for more monitoring and control

Renatus Elius, operations manager at Nile Perch Processing Factory in Mwanza, one of the factories that have been hit hard by illegal fishing activities, said the government needs to up its games on monitoring, control and surveillance.

He suggested the need to adopt the Ugandan surveillance style by deploying the army into the lake.

“Unfortunately, it seems like a daunting task to combat the rapid resurgence of illegal fishing in our waters.

I strongly urge our government to follow in the footsteps of Uganda and take decisive action,” he said, adding: “It’s disheartening … I have no doubt that if the military were to take control, order would be swiftly restored in the fishing sector. But for now, we are simply struggling.”

High Court Mwanza Registry Records of Illegal Fishing Cases: 2014-2023

From 2014 to 2022, the High Court Mwanza Registry prosecuted a steady stream of cases involving illegal fishing in various districts, including Mwanza, Nyamagana, Magu, Sengerema, Misungwi, Chato, and Geita. Geita consistently recorded the most cases.

Despite the persistence of illegal fishing, figures show that concern over the problem was at its peak in 2014-2015, with a total of 205 and 211 court cases being filed.

This number mainly decreased from 2016-2021, though it rose slightly again in 2022 to 145 cases.

The East African Community’s (EAC) fisheries watchdog, the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO), acknowledges that management measures it recommended – such as limiting fishing capacity and closing the fishing season for at least two calendar months each year- have not been adopted.

The strategy was agreed at the regional level (Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda) in 2021 to reduce overall fishing effort and protect spawning or pre-spawning fish.

Will new leadership provide hope for the fishing industry?

The Director of Fisheries Service at the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development, Mohamed Sheikh, acknowledged the concerning decline in fish stocks on Lake Victoria.

According to the latest survey conducted by the government in 2023, there was a significant 33 percent reduction in the Nile perch population since 2014.

Sheikh was appointed in November last year following the Minister’s decision to fire his predecessor Stephen Lukanga over underperformance and failure to implement comprehensive systems to end illegal fishing.

Sheikh emphasized that safeguarding fish resources is a collective responsibility extending beyond the Ministry. He said the public was becoming more aware of the detrimental effects of illegal fishing.

“The ministry is actively devising solutions to address this issue comprehensively, aiming for substantial improvements in the sector… this will take probably six months,” he said.

To tackle the challenges, the ministry has engaged executive directors of districts around Lake Victoria to foster collaborative efforts. Plans are underway to establish 16 monitoring and reporting centers to curb illegal fishing activities, according to Sheikh.

The ministry has also earmarked approximately Tsh. 1 billion (around USD $400,000) to protect vulnerable areas, crucial for maintaining a sustainable fish stock.

“There is so much we want to do to ensure the sector restores its lost glory,” Sheikh said, acknowledging the need to review the fishing regulations to battle illegal fishing in both the sea and freshwaters.

The government said it has had difficulty safeguarding the lake, particularly using expensive speed boats, and plans to adopt the use of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) drones to enhance surveillance.

It is also in discussion with the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology to develop advanced technology to code and monitor all fishing activities in the lake.

This includes installing chips on registered boats to track and monitor their movements, ultimately reinforcing effective conservation measures.

“We are undertaking a number of interventions, but now we aim to raise awareness, particularly by involving other stakeholders like the Local governments (PO – RALG), to recognize that illegal fishing will deprive them of revenue.

Fighting illegal fishing alone is not enough; our goal is to protect fish breeding grounds and this will greatly benefit us,” he said, emphasizing that the government will revise fishing regulations as soon as possible.

This story was produced in partnership with InfoNile, supported by the Pulitzer Center.

Source: allafrica.com

Continue Reading

Djibouti is feeling a new buzz – mosquitoes fighting other mosquitoes – in their fight against malaria

The city introduced a strain of non-biting male Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes to combat vector-borne diseases like malaria. Scientists used self-limiting genes that had previously worked with Aedes aegypti (the Zika virus, dengue, and other vectors), creating genetically modified (GMO) mosquitoes.

According to Oxitec, a biotech company, its Friendly™ female mosquitoes are genetically modified so that the female offspring cannot live, which ensures that only male mosquitoes are produced for release. The GMO male mosquitoes are released into the population where they mate with wild females thus gradually suppressing the target mosquito population.

The groundbreaking Djibouti Friendly™ Mosquito Program was launched through a collaboration between Djibouti’s National Malaria Control Programme, Association Mutualis, and Oxitec.

The first trial of the non-biting male mosquitoes was carried out in Ambouli, a community within Djibouti City, after being reviewed and approved by regulatory authorities from the government of Djibouti, and initiated with the importation of Friendly™ mosquitoes into Djibouti in December 2023.

Oxitec reports that this test release was done after two years of research on Anopheles stephensi occurrence, population sizes, and habits within various towns and neighborhoods, and involved engagement with communities and stakeholders. While designing and conducting field studies, health officers, local leaders, and regional experts, actively participated during workshops and public meetings.

“Our government’s objective is to urgently reverse malaria transmission in Djibouti which has spiked over the last decade,” said Colonel Dr Abdoulilah Ahmed Abdi, Health Advisor to the President of Djibouti.

“Today’s launch is a significant national milestone, but what’s even more exciting is the potential the solution has for the region and the entire African continent. We hope our pilot release of Oxitec’s innovative Friendly™ mosquitoes will serve as a blueprint for other nations facing similar challenges with the spread of malaria.”

Djibouti almost wiped out malaria in 2012, with only 27 cases reported. However, in the following years, there was a dramatic rise in cases that hit 73,000 by 2020. This latest technology gives hope to the race against malaria worldwide – a disease that results in about 600,000 deaths annually with sub-Saharan Africa bearing the brunt of the burden.

Source: allafrica.com

Continue Reading