By Peter Atsiaya

A stalemate between East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) MPs and Council of Ministers (CoM) has delayed signing of Lake Victoria Commission Bill.

The Council declined to endorse amendments by MPs to the Bill.

Eight Eala MPs meeting in Kisumu on Tuesday said the ministers were uncomfortable with the amendments because they would water down their influence in the management of the commission.

The Bill, pending before the CoM for the last three years, is aimed at giving the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) legal basis to operate in the region.

The Commission that represents five member states operates under national laws but is not recognised under regional legislation.

The MPs, who are members of the Eala Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources, were speaking at LVBC headquarters under the leadership of committee chairman John Langale. Mr Langale said CoM is to blame for the stalemate and urged them to endorse the document before the November deadline.

"The CoM is sitting on the amended Bill because its members fear the changes would deny them powers," said Mike Sembalu, an Eala MP from Uganda.

He added: "People’s views must be reflected in the legal and policy frameworks we are making."

He noted days when Governments prepared legal frameworks without involving locals are long gone.

Langale said the impression CoM wanted to give was that Eala was standing in the way of implementation of the Bill.

"They should reconsider their stand and endorse the Bill for the sake of development of the basin," he said.

The MPs also took issue with LVBC for sidelining them in implementation of projects in the region.

"I am not aware of the water and sanitation project LVBC is undertaking at Sengerema town in my country," Mr Lwanyantika Masha of Rwanda said.

In his defence, LVBC Executive Secretary Tom Okurut told MPs that some of the projects were still at the paper work stage and they would be involved from the ground-breaking period.