Former Naivasha MP John Mututho wants the government to ban farming on riparian land around Lake Naivasha.
Mututho says this will eradicate water hyacinth that has choked the water body of the lake.
“The weed breeds well in places that have levels of nitrates and for us to deal with it, we must address the issue of pollution in the lake,” Mututho said.
Mututho chaired the parliamentary committee on agriculture during his tenure as an MP. He says there are high levels of nitrates in the lake due to pollution from nearby farms.
Calls by Mututho, to have the farming banned, comes a few days after a group of tourists and journalists on boats in the lake were blocked for several hours before being rescued by fishermen.
Addressing the press on Sunday in Naivasha, Mututho said the situation will worsen if the nitrates level is not controlled.
“We conducted investigations which revealed that there are very high levels of nitrate in the lake which come from chemicals used by the farms and the sewer plant,” he said.