Blue mining CS Hassan Joho and PS Muthoni Njagi were called before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Blue Economy, Water and Irrigation to explain whether the country received value for the money spent on fist stock assessment process.
Members of Parliament were shocked to learn that the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs spent Ksh1.6 billion in the fiscal year 2023/24 to assess the state of fish in the Indian Ocean.
Fish Stock assessment is the process of collecting, analysing and reporting on fish condition and breeding areas in order to estimate abundance and productivity rates.
“So, you are telling this Committee you were allocated billions just to count fish in the ocean?” Tiaty MP William Kamket asked.
In response, the Joho-led team explained that the stock assessment is a global practice that occurs in every country that has interest in blue economy affairs.
The CS further stated that possessing an assessment report of marine life in the Indian Ocean is important when requesting investors to bring their vessels to Kenya.
“As a country, we must understand where we are so that when defend a position, it’s based on detailed scientific research,” Joho explained.
“It (the assessment) informs us on the licensing regime we use. We will not be able to go investors to tell them to come to Kenya if we don’t have an assessment report. It goes beyond counting fish. It is being able to understand the entire eco-system so we can understand the zoning in the ocean,” he added.
The Joho-led team further asked for 600 million to complete the first phase of the exercise. This caused the MPs to be irate.
PS Njagi explained in response to the questions that the exercise occurred in phases and the amount would go to completing the remaining part in the past year.
“This framework contract is for 3 years. Every year is Ksh1.2billion,” stated Njagi.
Cs Joho assured the Committee that the industry would have a return on investment once investors come on board.
