From: odhiambo okecth

Lee,

At The Clean Kenya Campaign, we are asking very simple questions; Why do people need leadership if they cannot address such simple things?

Fish Harvesting in Lake Victoria is dying and many of the people around the Lake are being rendered jobless and becoming destitutes.And NO leader has raised his or her voice.

Look at this; http://www.ehow.com/way_ 5664058_use-water-hyacinth- fertilizer.html

Can you see that Hyacinth can be of real value? But our leaders are happy leading us to nowhere.

People must wake up and ask the hard questions. 50 Years of Independence is such a long time to continue playing ping pong with a people.

Oto

— On Thu, 11/22/12, Lee Makwiny wrote:
From: Lee Makwiny
Subject: LAKE VICTORIA WATER HYACINTH AND THE LEADERSHIP IN NYANZA.
Date: Thursday, November 22, 2012, 3:55 AM

ODM Youth 2012 once visited Homabay county. Visited the shores arround there.

We approaced several leaders on the best way we can help with this problem. None of them heeded to this call. Most of those leaders are currently running to be governors of Homabay.

Sad.

On Thu, Nov 22, 2012 at 2:07 PM, otieno sungu wrote:

Leadership is about representation, leadership is about guiding followers in finding solutions, it is about turning challenges into opportunities but above all, it is about selflessly pursuing a vision, being pragmatic in the process and ensuring at the end of it all, the led have a reason to believe they have at the helm men and women who have not abandoned them to the forces of fate but those who play a role in shaping their destiny.

The water hyacinth is one such issue that is killing the fishing economy of Nyanza. While Uganda has managed to contain this menace and ensure it does not kill the mainstay of their fishing communities, ours is a sorry state of leaders emasculated by the hyacinth. Just like the green weed, the leadership on our Lake Victoria side is to say the least, very ill equipped to turn challenges into opportunities and basically unable to provide solutions.

The hyacinth weed begun invading Lake Victoria in the 90s, it was a small irritant then that has been allowed to grow to emasculate a whole industry .This; while youth cry out to be empowered and supported to weed out this menace. When Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai died, her coffin was made out of the water hyacinth by some very creative young fellows. Did any of the leadership from around the lake take notice? Leadership is about taking such notice and making the best out of such innovative ideas, up scaling and building their capacities.

This is where I just don’t get it. If a leadership cannot resolve just a weed menace and offer hope to a community being annihilated by the weed, I am left wondering how such leadership can manage with greater tasks.

[image]This is Lake Victoria on a good day, you can see the water,the youth trying to get worms for their lines. Other days, this boat , the youth and the Lake would be submerged by the water hyacinth!
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zc0hxLwK2JQ/UK35QrduQZI/AAAAAAAACNA/CzrhoJy4SDM/s1600/Photo-0016.jpg

The Nyanza economy is dying, sample this. The young men who work in hotels and restaurants along the beaches are being laid off for lack of customers; local and visiting tourists, who usually visit the beaches, eat fish and take boat rides, require transport and generally bring in revenue. The lake transport from Kisumu, Kendu Bay, Homa Bay, Mbita, Uyoma, Bondo, Sori through to Uganda and Tanzania is on its death bed courtesy of the hyacinth weed. Most roads are in terrible shape hence high fares on road transport.

The fish processing companies that employ thousands are scaling down their operations, laying off workers because they cannot operate at full capacity. The jobs in line are drivers, loaders, those who fillet, process and package. The women who sell waste products from these factories no longer have anything to do.At the national level, Kenya is losing millions in foreign exchange due to the weed.

With all this, our leaders, as usual want to blame everyone else on this, blame it on the National Accord, blame it on stolen elections, blame it on being short changed and everything else except their lack of ability to lead, be innovative, give hope and channel both human and capital resources to change lives. Lets leave alone everything else, when did these leaders ever meet or even bring stakeholders together to deliberate on steps to liberate Lake Victoria from the hyacinth? How have they followed up on such to ensure a plan is in place to resolve this menace?

But even looked at from another angle, suppose the weed defeated them and they have run out of ideas how to deal with it, fish farming is now a serious undertaking and an alternative to fishing which even in small ways can be supported.

[image]Some of the ponds we are digging to provide opportunities for the youth around the Lake.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9bhJZ5d3h28/UK38bbIe5bI/AAAAAAAACNQ/RZV5dS8uWqo/s1600/Photo-0018.jpg

I have traveled wide around Lake Victoria region, especially Siaya, Homa Bay and Kisumu County and the situation is pathetic. Folks hitherto earning a living from fishing have been rendered jobless by the hyacinth.These are people who do not have skills in fish farming. How much was or has been done to ensure that they quickly change their lifestyles to overcome and adopt to the new challenge? Leadership is about guiding people, offering alternatives and tackling problems. Which MP from these constituencies surrounding the Lake has taken steps to look into the challenge of the water hyacinth and try to offer solutions? And most if not all have been around for the last 8 years since NARC took over power.Would we still want to blame KANU for such woes?

Kenyans have been treated to episodes on TV, now and then as fishermen are rescued after several days at Lake, stranded, engulfed by the water hyacinth, tired, hungry, angry and frustrated. The leadership is largely mum and looks the other way as these monumental challenges consume their electorate, the very men and women whom they whip up to vote for them so that ”development” can be realized! How hypocritical!

I want to posit here and for good measure, that the Lake region has no leadership to talk about,and for good measure.

Nyanza has no reason to believe that this kind of leadership, even if given the whole world to lead and all its resources, could make a change in the lives of their followers, let alone everybody else.

Leadership is about showcasing, it is about offering solutions, it is not about whining for more resources without showing how well one has used the modest one already has, it is about giving hope and translating challenges into opportunities.

This is why I must categorically say to those who coalesce around the leadership in Nyanza,giving all sorts of excuses will not wash. The current leadership in Luo Nyanza must not lie that someone else is the problem, we must not be cheated that these things cannot be solved because we are waiting to greater powers and resources.These things simply require leadership and that is what Nyanza lacks in abundance.

I am here waiting and hoping it is not too late, or is it?

Otieno Sungu.