Museveni sets conditions for withdrawing soldiers from lakes

President Yoweri Museveni has said he is willing to withdraw soldiers deployed to curb illegal fishing activities on Ugandan lakes as long as the fishermen can commit to protecting the water resources.

Museveni, also the National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential candidate, made the promise during his scientific campaign meeting in Jinja district on Friday.

Museveni, on his second day of scientific campaigns in Busoga sub-region in eastern Uganda, was meeting NRM party leaders from Jinja, Luuka and Mayuge.

The NRM leaders, in a memo presented to Museveni at the meeting, complained about alleged high-handedness of law enforcement teams deployed to curb unlawful fishing in the area.
  
"While we appreciate the efforts to restock the almost depleted resource, the approach by security organs has been crude and in some cases unlawful, negatively impacting on the image of government," Bunya County MP and state minister for transport Aggrey Bagiire stated. 

Museveni said the soldiers had done a good job of curb illegal fishing on Uganda's lakes but said he had learnt that some of them have ironically resorted to extortion.

"At first, they (soldiers) did a good job. I hear that they are now in the fish business. If only we can get evidence, we will deal with them," he explained.

"I brought in soldiers because the traditional fishermen had betrayed us. They are the ones who should have protected the lake for us so that fish is not depleted," he added.

He told delegates that the best solution was for communities to identify fishermen with indigenous knowledge of prudent fishing practices to regulate fishing activities themselves.

"The best way is for the traditional fishermen to come up through the structures of the NRM and show us the people who can take over the lake and we withdraw the soldiers," he stated.

Fishing is a prominent economic activity in Busoga sub-region, which enjoys unique proximity to Lake Victoria, Africa's largest freshwater lake, as well as Lake Kyoga.

Candidate Museveni also met NRM youth leaders from Busoga sub-region and appealed to them to advance the party's core principles of democracy, patriotism, pan-Africanism, and socio-economic transformation.

Museveni today heads to Kamuli district, where he will meet NRM party leaders including incumbents and flag bearers, as well as another group of youth leaders from the region.