By Okong’o Oduya
Fear and panic is gripping residents of Bunyala Sub y following the rising levels of Lake Victoria which has prompted area leaders to send a passionate plea to President Uhuru Kenyatta to spearhead the review of the 1929 Nile Treaty.
According to Bunyala South Ward member Stephen Omenda and his Bunyala South Counterpart Fredric Musirimba noted that the backflow of Lake Victoria was raising fears of floods returning to the area.
He was speaking at Bulwani Primary School over the weekend where Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong presided over a fund raising in an aid of 60 students from the area who are pursuing secondary education in various secondary schools within and outside the county.
“We are experiencing backflow from the Lake to homes. This is caused by the neighboring nation Uganda which is controlling the flow of water at the Owen Falls dam at Jinja at the source of river Nile. The East African Community Presidents should convene a summit of Heads of State to review the Nile Treaty which he said needed radical changes to rescue riparian states like Kenya,” Omenda said.
Speaking separately during the burial of Mzee Gerald Wanyama Ratori at Bujumba village Musirimba noted that the rising water levels will soon break the lake banks and it may damage properties of families living around the lake.
River Nile is the largest world’s longest river flowing 6,700Kms through ten countries in North Eastern Africa.
The Nile is very important natural resource especially for Africa and its long-term development with over 160 million people relying on the waters of this important river for their daily livelihoods.
The Nile Basin Initiative is a partnership among the Nile Riparian states that “seeks to develop the river in a cooperative manner, share substantial socioeconomic benefits, and promote regional peace and security”.
This Initiative was formally launched in February 1999 by the water ministers of nine countries that share the river including Kenya. However, nothing much has come out of the initiative.
