Sh140m fish plant lies idle for 2 years over lack of power

The Sh140 million Sori fish processing plant is not in use because of lack of electricity. [Anne Atieno, Standard]

When the construction of the Sh140 million Sori fish processing plant in Migori was declared complete in 2022, fishermen had high hopes of reaping big from fish exports.

They believed they had finally addressed the problem of post-harvest losses attributed to the lack of proper storage facilities.

The new facility, constructed by the national government, was equipped with coolers, storage, weighing, and ice-making machines to aid in preservation.

Today, however, the mega-investment lies idle due to the failure to connect it to electricity.

Harison Kisera, a fisherman, said they have a challenge with power and are unable to preserve their catch.

“This plant relies on power which we don’t have,” the fisherman said.

The fishermen had been hopeful that once power was installed, they would add value to their catches and do away with post-harvest losses, as their fish would be exported.

Maxwell Ogolla, the Sori Beach Management Unit (BMU) chairman, said the lack of power is their biggest challenge at the plant.

“We were given a transformer, but it was not working. Although everything else is in place, we fully rely on a generator that was installed for backup,” Ogolla said.

According to the BMU chairman, the generator they use consumes a lot of fuel, hence a loss for fishermen.

In October 2022, Ochieng Mbeo, who is the chairman of the Kenya Fish Marketing Authority, said they would start the process of packaging and exporting fish from the plant immediately after power is installed.

“The body would ensure fish is packaged and exported from the processing plant in Migori County to the world. Fish will be branded from its area of origin as it is being exported. We will be doing everything here aside from adding value to fishermen’s catch,” Mbeo said in a past interview.

However, this is yet to be realized since the plant has been lacking power to date.

Fishermen have been forced to rely on generators for daily use, as they say buying fuel to run the plant is costly.

Nyatike MP Tom Odege said they were following up with Kenya Power on the issue.

“Their problems will be completely solved if they manage to get electricity to run it. As of now, they cannot afford the fuel which is needed to run it,” Odege said.

He said they are trying to intervene so that Kenya Power can help them get electricity that will enable the plant to run effectively and at a cost that the fishermen can afford.

Samson Kidera, the regional director of Fisheries and Blue Economy - Western and Nyanza, said Kenya Power was in the process of ensuring there was power at the plant.

“We are in consultation with Kenya Power over the supply of power. The transformer which was installed there was faulty and could not support the activities within the facility. It was picked by Kenya Power so that it could be replaced,” Kidera said.