Planning for water transport on Lake Victoria

Abstract

In an effort to exploit extensively the available resources and in order to provide access and consequently enhance the economic development of rural areas, the Kenyan Government has put as a priority, among others, the development and improvement of transportation facilities throughout the nation, since this in some parts has thwarted the development of certain regions. The theme of this particular study is an the improvement. of a transport system. The study has examined extensively the Water Transport on Lake Victoria within the Kenyan territory. This lake transport has a lot of potential that if effectively exploited can help solve some of the transport problems experienced along the lake region, but unfortunately, it has been underutilized as a potential resource in terms of transportation. In this study an attempt has been made to examine the various forms of Waterborne transport on the lake and identify the problems effecting its development and the areas that have potential but have been underutilized giving causes as to the under utilization. Above all it is the objective of this study upon the identification ( vii) of areas of weakness to plan for the development of this system of transport in integration with the other modes of transport within the study area. In considering the water transport, the effective hinterland of this Lake Transport has been specifically defined and considered as equally important in the development of the Lake transport A detailed analysis of the study area has been done so as to identify the resource areas that make use of the lake transport and how these resources can be harnessed and channeled for transportation through the lake with the ultimate aim of improving the economic growth of the area around the lake. In this connection the existing Government policies regarding all the various transport modes in the country has been examined together with the other existing mode& of transport within the study area. Important findings emerging from the study in general are that the lake has a lot of potential for the development of an efficient water transport system, however, among the problems identified to be affecting it are the lack of specific Government policies and attention for this particular mode of transport. Also detrimental to the transport system in general is the disorganization of the various modes of lake (v i i i) transport. The study has therefore recommended for a more Specific Government Policy formulation regarding this transport mode and advocates for the organization of all the major modes of transport on the lake. The policy proposals or plans at the end of this study aims at solving these problems with as minimal financial expenditures as possible. More stress has consequently been placed on the utilization of the existing facilities as a priority within the short term plan period.