Aquaculture CRSP Aquanews Vol. 18 No. 4 ~ Fall 2003

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What’s In a Name? Kenya Creates New Government Ministry

n August 2003, the Kenyan government announced the creation of a new ministry, called the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development. According to Nancy Gitonga, Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture CRSP Principal Investigator, this is the first time in Kenya’s history that a ministry has included the word “fisheries.” The new ministry evolved out of the original Fisheries Department within the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife.

Heading the ministry is the Honorable Joseph Konzolo Munyao, Member of Parliament, assisted by Permanent Secretary Daniel Mule. The new Ministry was created through a split from the formerly gigantic Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. The Kenyan government realized that the livestock and fisheries subsectors could not reach their full potential under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. A smaller ministry of fisheries and livestock would, therefore, facilitate better focus and resource allocations.

The new ministry was created in large part due to Gitonga’s advocacy of aquaculture. She helped the government recognize the need to develop fisheries, especially in Exclusive Economic Zones, since they have great potential to help alleviate poverty in rural Kenya. Inland aquaculture in particular promises to bring economic change to a large proportion of the rural population. In order to demonstrate recognition of the importance of fisheries by the current government, the president of the Republic of Kenya, Hon. Mwai Kibaki, agreed to be shown various marine fish species caught during a fishing competition, an event of the Agricultural Show of Kenya, which was held in the coastal town of Mombasa on 11 September 2003.

To the new ministry’s staff, this is a great achievement since there will be more focus on the fisheries sector with regard to resource allocation and donor funding. This positive step is bound to draw adequate attention that is likely to result in increased resource allocation to the sector. This move shows that aquaculture’s capacity to enrich livelihoods in developing countries is being increasingly recognized by national governments. You can find more about the ministry on their website <http://www.statehousekenya.go.ke/government/livestock.htm >.

The Aquaculture CRSP is proud to have been a part of this exciting development. Indeed, Gitonga says, “The [Aquaculture] CRSP has been a great contributor in bringing the sector to the forefront with regard to recognition.”

Dignitaries look at various marine fish species caught during a fishing competition in the coastal town of Mombasa. (Left to right: Lucy Kibaki, First Lady of Kenya, Hon. Mwai Kibaki, President of Kenya, Godfrey Monor, Assistant Director of Fisheries, and Nancy Gitonga, Director of Fisheries.)

Photo: David Nzioka
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