Government Confirms Plan to Establish Nine Search and Rescue Centres on Major Lakes

  The government has confirmed the establishment of nine search and rescue centers (SAR) on three major lakes in the country. 

  The SAR centres are intended to promote sustainable and safe operations on three major lakes namely Lake Victoria, Albert and Kyoga.

  The state minister for transport, Fred Byamukama confirmed the development saying the initiative will further promote water transport safety and security, in collaboration with the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) and funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB).

  The SAR centres on Lake Victoria will be established at landing sites of Kaazi, Misonzi, Lwanika, Kiyindi, Masese, and Namba Emu at Buvuuma. Other centres will be established on Lake Kyoga (Zengebe landing site), and on Lake Albert - Panyimur and Kaiso landing sites in Packwach and Kikuube districts respectively.

The government, working together with its neighbours, is also considering establishment of one regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) at Mwanza, three sub centres one in each in Tanzania, Kenya (at Kisumu) and Uganda (at Entebbe) thoroughly coordinate all rescue activities on the water bodies.

According to Minister Byamukama, currently the government is constructing a Maritime Survival Training Centre at Entebbe which will be launched early next year to conduct training of all water operators for purposes of improving their knowledge and skills.

The training centre shall also have a 24/7 call centre using code 110 line for all persons in distress to call using any network and seek assistance which will be provided at no cost.

  “We are considering procurement of seventeen rescue boats to support water users who may find themselves in distress situations: establishing a weather buoy system on the lakes. Aids to Navigation (ATONs), buoys have been positioned at strategic positions near the mentioned SAR centres. The buoys will determine weather patterns on the water bodies. The SAR Centers will then guide the water transport users on the forecasted weather conditions,” Byamukama reveals.

The government interventions, supplemented with collaboration among all stakeholders, will result in increased investment in water transport by the private sector which will further bring about increased trade, tourism and employment.

Increased commercial activities on the lakes will also translate into more tax revenues for the government, which revenue can fund improvement of the maritime infrastructure on the lakes.

Several islanders have welcomed the initiative, however they asked the government to use the SAR centres to control safety instead of taking more dominance against water users especially fishermen.

Ibrahim Kamoga, a resident at Buvuma is worried that for so long the government restricted them from conducting fishing activities under the guise of illegal fishing but then wonders what will happen after establishing the centres.

Stephen Mpanga, from Buvuma says the initiative is good but their fear is if the intention changes along the way and more suffering happens because of the SAR centres.