Opposition leader Raila Odinga yesterday met officials from the national and county governments ahead of the African Cities Summit to be held in 2021 in Kisumu.
Raila, who is also the High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa, held the meeting at his Capitol Hill office in Nairobi with Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o and Devolution Cabinet secretary Eugene Wamalwa, among other officials from both levels of government, as well as consultants.
Raila said their discussion focused on plans to rid the hyacinth-choked Lake Victoria of the weed and revive water transport.
He said Kenya was working closely with the Ugandan government to ensure water transport was revived by removing the hyacinth before the country hosts the ninth edition of the African Cities Summit.
He said Uganda had taken a positive move towards the reclamation of maritime transport by supplying a dredger that is currently at the Kisumu port awaiting the removal of hyacinth.
“We are trying to revive the lake transport, and this was what the president mentioned when he visited Kisumu last time,” said Raila.
He said the initiative was similar to what President Uhuru Kenyatta started in Mombasa last month, when he launched the regeneration of the Mama Ngina Drive recreational park.
Raila added that various ministries, including Transport, Environment, Tourism and Energy, were involved in the reclamation of the lake.
“Various ministries are working together to ensure lake transport is revived and the lake front is improved to attract tourists,” Raila said, adding that the project would require a lot of finances to pull through.
Governor Nyong’o and Wamalwa said the preparations for the conference had started under the direction of the former Prime Minister.
Nyong’o said the hyacinth will be removed by 2021 and that the lake will be dredged to remove sediments that had rendered parts of it too shallow for operation of water vessels.
