Britain intervenes to save Lake Victoria from water hyacinth

KISUMU, KENYA: The British government has intervened to safe Lake Victoria from water hyacinth which has invaded most of its shores within the Kenyan waters.

British High Commissioner to Kenya Nic Hailey says his government is at advanced stages of negotiations with the Kenyan government in an agreement which will see British companies invest in biogas production using the stubborn weed.

At a meeting with area Governor Jack Ranguma, Mr Hailey said his government has keen interest in Kisumu as an investment pivot for the east African countries, and Lake Victoria was one of the key areas of investment targets.

"We have a number of British companies with expertise in biogas generation and a lot of those companies have interest in investing in Kenya. Water hyacinth is one of the areas of focus," said Heiley.

He said negotiations through the Ministry of Energy would see water hyacinth and solid waste turned into energy for electricity production.

"The companies are already discussing a power purchase agreement which I hope will be complete soon so as to have the projects kick off," said Hailey, adding that the project will be used to kill two birds as it will promote environmental management.

Water hyacinth has become a menace for the lake users in the recent past with fishing and transport activities within the lake paralysed since late last year, affecting economies of the 13 counties bordering the water body.