Kalambo 1.5bn/-modern fish market in six months

The government has started the construction of a 1.5bn/- new modern fish market in Kasanga Ward, Kalambo district on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Rukwa.

The construction which started last month has sent a sigh of relief to fishermen and other stakeholders around the area while the project is set to take six months at Kilewani village at Kasanga.

Fishermen went ahead to say that they have reason to smile as for over 13 years they lacked a reliable and competitive fish market due to submerging of the existing market facility due to the rising water level in Lake Tanganyika which started October 2020.

A ‘Daily News’ spot survey conducted recently revealed that the lack of a fish market, with a cold room, pushed fishermen in the country to use a Zambia facility at low prices because they had no other choices.

“Definitely we had none and subsequently the situation had pushed us to square one,” said one of the fishermen Mr Edward Simwanza.

The 802.4 m/- the submerged modern market was constructed from a fund mainly from European Union (EU) and was officially opened by the then Vice President, Dr Mohamed Gharib Bilal in 2011 but turned out to be a white elephant due to lack of electricity to run a cold room and was later swallowed by water blaming climate change.

Patrick Mathias, a fisherman, said they have no choice but to be hired by large fish processing factories in Mpulungu Town on the shoreline of Lake Tanganyika in Zambia.

“We have no option,” Mr Mathias said since are given fishing boats and gears and fuel “with a condition to sell fresh fishes to them at throwaway prices.”

Kasanga’s latest statistics from the fishery department indicate that at least 100,000 people living in the precincts closer to the submerged facility engage in fishing activities and annually they produce more than 300,000 tonnes of fish.

A similar sentiment was echoed by fisherman Elias Siyame saying they have all reasons to smile since the sixth phase administration was seeping up to address their challenges—especially the fish market.

“We are tired of being afflicted with the suffering of selling fish across the lake at throw away prices, simply because we have no other choice. We have families to take care,” Mr Siyame said.

A stakeholder, Mariam Nakazwe, said it was disheartening and disappointing as for 13 years fish processing factories on the Zambian side are benefiting handsomely.

“…This simply because on the Tanzanian side there is no a modern fish market for preserving fresh fishes,” Ms Nakazwe said.

Speaking with ‘Daily News’ recently the Kalambo District Executive Director (DED) Mr Shafi Mpenda allayed the anxieties of fishermen and stakeholders assuring them that the whole process of getting the contractor was done at the ministerial level during 2022/2023 fiscal year.

“The Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries has contracted Nice Construction Company to carry out the project for six months whose construction started in March,” added the DED.

Kalambo council in return allocated a five-acres at the hilly of Kilewani fishing village for the construction of a new facility.