Kampeni ya usalama kwa usafiri Ziwa Viktoria
- Target:
- East African Community Heads of State
- Region:
- Africa
- Website:
- www.easuswatch.org
Lake Victoria is arguably the most dangerous stretch of water in the world in terms of fatalities per square kilometer. Each year 4,000 – 5,000 people lose their lives on the lake due to drowning, pirate attacks, and accidents. Most of the victims are fishermen who leave behind an average of 8 dependents and hence the hazard affects over 30,000 people’s well being annually. All this is happening due to non-implementation of the Lake Victoria Transport Act (2007) put in place to regulate, co-ordinate and oversee maritime safety and security, search and rescue, aids to navigation, hydrography and charting, meteorology, communications and to prevent marine
pollution on the Lake for the benefit of the Partner States and their constituent dependent communities.
Attention:
H.E. Pierre Nkurunziza (Burundi)
H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya)
H.E. Paul Kagame (Rwanda)
H.E. Jakaya M. Kikwete (Tanzania)
H.E. Yoweri Museveni (Uganda
Mr. President,
Major accidents and disasters continue to be a frequent occurrence on Lake Victoria, since the passenger vessel M/V Bukoba capsized in 1996 with the loss of over 500 lives; the wagon ferry M/V Kabalega collided with a sister vessel MV/ Kaawa and sank in 2005 and Cargo vessel MV Nyamageni sank in 2006.
At the community levels loss of lives continues to happen:18 Tanzanian School children drowned when their vessel flipped in strong winds on August 05, 2010; 28 people were feared dead after their ferry capsized in bad weather near Entebbe on July 21, 2011; about 21 people are thought to have perished when the passenger boats capsized in Buikwe and Buvuma districts in Uganda in March 2012; 9 people died in a boat accident while traveling from Kabenyanje to Kigungu Landing Site in Uganda in 2013; four people are feared to have drowned when a canoe in which they were traveling capsized after it was hit by strong winds in Kagera region in Tnazania, February 24, 2014.
This is a crisis and the need for improved safety standards cannot be over emphasized. Fortunately, this intention is already enshrined in the Lake Victoria transport Act (2007).
We the undersigned urge YOU as EAC Heads of State to reign in and expedite the full implementation of the Lake Victoria Transport Act (2007) enacted by the East African Community Parliament to which all EAC Partner States through their respective Heads of State have already assented to, without any further delay.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Kampeni ya usalama kwa usafiri Ziwa Viktoria petition to East African Community Heads of State was written by East African Sustainability Watch Network and is in the category Roads & Transport at GoPetition.