Stamp out fishing with poison once and for all

The use of poison to catch fish in Lake Victoria is a problem that has stubbornly refused to go away despite assurances by the government that it is doing all in its power to stamp out the scourge.

Health experts say the consumption of fish caught through the use of chemicals is a major cause of cancer and reproductive complications, but does anybody care?

It is an open secret that unscrupulous fishermen around Lake Victoria and even along the coast use pesticides and other harmful substances to catch fish, which is sold to unsuspecting consumers.

The absence of random testing of fish samples caught in lakes and the Indian Ocean is partly to blame for the prevalence of the use of poison in fishing.

The Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries ministry and agencies such as the Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority should fully enforce existing regulations and come up with additional measures to curb this dangerous practice. The problem refuses to go away largely because of regulatory shortcomings.

Ignorance is also to blame for the continued use of poison to catch fish. While many fishermen who catch fish this way know exactly what they are doing and are aware of the dangers posed by their actions, some wrongly think that it is perfectly safe to use chemicals to catch fish.

Their flawed argument is that chemicals used to kill pesticides attacking food crops can also be used to kill fish. It clearly shows the level of ignorance among fishing communities insofar as the use of harmful substances is concerned.

Measures promised by regional authorities in the Lake Zone are a step in the right direction, and should help to address the problem at least in Mwanza Region.

It has been rightly observed that there is a need to conduct extensive campaigns to educate fishing communities from the village level on the dangers of fishing with poison.

REIN IN RENTAL EXPENSES

Careful scrutiny of the government’s 2016/17 budget shows that a whopping Sh42 billion will be set aside in the next financial year to pay rent for government occupancy of privately owned facilities, especially office space.

The amount includes Sh20 billion that will be gobbled up by Tanzania’s embassies in 35 countries. For a poor country such as ours, it is prudent that the government strives to cut spending as much as possible in areas where it has the ability to act.

Admittedly, efforts by the previous administration reduced this cost significantly, from a high of Sh70 billion three years ago to Sh57 billion last year. This year’s budget continues to show a positive downward trend.

But we feel more should be done to bring the figure to a bare minimum for the sake of the economy. President John Magufuli can start by implementing a longstanding advice by the Controller and Auditor General to ensure that foreign embassies in countries where Tanzania has acquired land build their own offices. It is unacceptable that while our embassies in countries such as Nigeria own idle land, the Treasury coughs up billions every year to pay their rent. What is paid is more than enough to put up decent buildings that would make it possible for the government to earn revenue abroad.

We are not opposed to the renting of private premises as this also contributes to economic growth, but it should be remembered that the money could be put to better use elsewhere.

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