Fishermen in Homa Bay want the collapsed Capitol Fish Factory revived.
They say that the factory's revival would provide them with a ready market. Currently, the fishermen from 130 beaches in Homa Bay sell fish locally and at times to Ugandan traders .
On Tuesday, several of them led by the county BMU (beach management unit) chairman Edward Oremo said they lagged behind economically due to lack of a processing factory.
Oremo said a lot of fish goes to waste during high seasons due to lack of a processing factory and coolers.
The county government has not honoured a promise it made in 2015 that it would buy more fish coolers after delivering 30 of them.
Oremo lamented that the price of a kilogramme of fish has reduced from Sh300 to Sh160. “Most fishermen sell the commodity to Ugandan traders at a throwaway price because they lack preservatives. In fact the Ugandans use the situation to exploit them.”
Capitol Fish Factory collapsed in 2011 when the owners - Israelis - left.
“We appeal to Governor Cyprian Awiti to restore the factory as he had promised (during his 2017 campaigns),” Oremo said.
Fishing is the major economic activity in Lake Victoria region.
Fishermen Semekiah Mamra and William Onditi appealed to both the county and national governments to come to their rescue.
