Water hyacinth spread, Sh81 million weed harvester idle

Water hyacinth harvester covered by the weed at Kisumu port in a picture taken on January 17, 2019. [Denish Ochieng, Standard)

The water hyacinth is a devastating weed found in water bodies, including rivers and lakes. It doubles in six to 15 days, and for decades; it has been reducing oxygen levels and killing the aquatic life in Lake Victoria, the second largest freshwater lake in the world.

The purchase of a weed harvester worth Sh81 million brought hope that the weed would be eradicated from Lake Victoria, but little has come out of it.