[Water hyacinth ravages Lake Victoria. Photo/Courtesy]
The national government through the Ministry of Devolution and Planning plans to fast-track the eradication of water hyacinth in Lake Victoria.
According to Youth Affairs Principal Secretary Lilian Omollo, 500 youths will be recruited by the Ministry of Devolution and Planning under the National Youth Service (NYS) programme.
The recruits will be joined by 200 servicemen. She asserted the hyacinth remains a greatest threat to the communities around the lake.
“Water hyacinth is one of the largest environmental hazards affecting the lake region both economically and socially,'' said Omollo.
The PS was speaking in Kisumu in the company of Jubilee Party Secretary General Raphael Tuju, Sports, Culture and Arts Cabinet Secretary Hassan Warrior, his Principal Secretary Joe Okudo and ICT CS Joe Mucheru.
She noted that the initiative was a pilot project that will aid as an approach towards the eradication of the water hyacinth.
The project will be launched in Bondo before bring expanded to cover the entire Lake Victoria region.
On his part, Tuju reiterated that the government was willing to find permanent solutions that would see challenges facing the transport industry and fish farming in the lake region addressed as quick as possible.
“Water hyacinth is the biggest environmental disaster. We are here to see how to deal with it and what can be done to increase dwindling fish stocks through fish cage and fish pond farming,” Tuju said.