Siaya:Africa’s second largest Ox-bow lake bursts its banks,destroying thousands of farmlands!
The floods have washed away crops in over 8,000 acres of farmland, submerged homes and schools-
Africa’s second largest Ox-bow in Siaya County burst its banks causing massive floods in Bunyala, Busia County.
Busia Governor H.E Dr Paul Otuoma has appealed to the National Government and other agencies to intervene and avert a looming environmental and human disaster after Lake Kanyaboli, Africa’s second largest Ox-bow in Siaya County burst its banks causing massive floods in Bunyala, Busia County.
The floods have washed away crops in over 8,000 acres of farmland, submerged homes and schools.
The waters also rendered roads impassable and washed away Ndekwe, Sidokho and Dolola bridges in Bunyala South and Bunyala Central wards.
Addressing the press at Lake Kanyaboli after conducting an assessment tour, the governor who was accompanied by Busia County Commissioner Kipchumba Rutto called for immediate rehabilitation of the dyke bordering the lake to control the flow of water downstream.
“We need the Military and National Youth Service to respond to this disaster immediately to avert more destruction considering the fact that Busia and Siaya counties cannot manage this alone,” said Dr Otuoma.
Mr Ruto said they will escalate the support extended by Agro Lake Limited, formerly Dominion Farms, currently rehabilitating the dyke.
“This is an engineering nightmare and must be remedied as quickly as possible because downstream settlement and farmlands have been affected and upstream the lake is rescinding,” said the commissioner who assured the governor he will link line agencies.
Area MCAs John Omumi (Bunyala South) and Stephen Nasiagi (Bunyala Central) said their efforts to rehabilitate the dyke were met with hostility earlier on after communities bordering lake Kanyaboli wanted the water drained to prevent their homes from being marooned.
“We anticipate the situation to worsen downstream if we don’t mitigate this disaster soon,” said Mr Omumi.
Lake Agro Limited General Manager Nev Davies lauded the governor and county leadership for showing their commitment towards remedying the disaster.
“We are happy that other agencies are coming in to assist us mitigate this situation. However, we will appreciate a long term solution to end perennial floods.”
Ibrahim Ogolla, a honorary Conservation Warden in Western Region, emphasised on the need to conserve the ecosystem by ensuring the lake has a permanent inlet and outlet to control water flow.
“The lake is quickly draining out to the Yala Swamp ecosystem which is home to millions of fauna, flora and other endangered animal species. We call for immediate remedy to prevent more losses,” said Mr Ogolla.
The team will host a multi-agency meeting on Friday, a move towards finding a lasting solution to the challenge.
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