Leaders protest over fish imports from China

Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo.

Nairobi, Kenya: Members of Parliament from Nyanza and Coast regions have threatened to call for a boycott of fish from China, citing health and economic concerns.

The MPs said the importation has severely affected fish-producing regions economically, as hundreds of local fish mongers have been pushed out of business.

Additionally, the lawmakers claimed lack of guarantees on the safety of the fish has exposed consumers to lead poisoning and cholera, among other health effects.

“Unless and until the Government tells us why it cannot make available the necessary resources to make our fish industry viable, unless and until the Government authenticates the safety of these cheap fish imports from China, we urge our people to completely boycott their purchase and consumption,” said the MPs in their statement read by Nicholas Gumbo (Rarieda).

The Standard this week carried an exclusive report of how fish from China have flooded the local market as local fish breeding grounds run dry.

The report also showed how fish processing companies in Nyanza region have scaled owns their operations in favour of Chinese fish imports. The fish, according to the special report, is frozen and exported to Kenya by Zhangzou Longyi Food Company Limited.

According to the MPs, Chinese fish is ‘fake’ and the importation deal was part of a scheme to marginalise fish-producing regions from the country economic mainstream.

DELIBERATE NEGLECT

“The fact that a country with a coastline in excess of 2,000 nautical miles and access to the world’s second largest fresh water lake, in addition to several inland water bodies can actively import unprocessed fish from China is a thorough indictment of the deliberate neglect the industry has been subjected to by successive governments since independence,” read the statement.

Olago Aluoch (Kisumu Town West) claimed that the imported fish, mainly tilapia, has no certification from relevant authorities.

The MPs said they will petition the Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi to have the matter referred to the relevant House committee for consideration.

Others at the Press conference at Parliament Buildings were Shakeel Shabbir (Kisumu East), James Nyikal (Seme), Joseph Ndiege (Suna West), Gideon Ochanda (Bondo), Millie Odhiambo (Mbita) and John Kobado (Uriri).

“We are not only going to boycott, but we are going to make sure that they don’t operate from Kisumu,” said Mr Shabbir.

The MPs said while the European Union had strict regulations on fish exports from Africa, Kenya’s regulations are still lax.

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