New hope as ships begin to dock at the abandon Homa-Bay harbor

NCV senior correspondent

Ugandan ship being loaded with soapstone powder at the dock

As the clock clicks, it is now two months since the revival of the HomaBay harbour which has remained dormant for over 10 years since it was bug-ridden by the dreading water hyacinth.

This docking idea has revived trade at the harbour.  The ship from Tanzania comes with mangoes to trade and in return purchase other household goods. The major activity here that has been appreciated too by a number of residences is the export of powdered soapstone from Kisii to Uganda and in return they supply tones and tones of charcoal at subsidized rate.

In a plain conversion with one of the buyers, this was her opinion over the matter “it is good that this lake is now accessible and I would like to appreciate that. HomaBay as a town has been stunted for decades now since ships stopped docking at this point. By the way, looking at 15 years back from now, this town was fur much developed than even Kisii but look at it today! This is an opportunity for us to reclaim our lost glory” said Mrs. Mary Owalo. 

In the history of this port, a number of activities like travel, transport and even water sports used to be carried out at this point until in the late 80s when water hyacinth shuttered the entire dream. There has been a number government attempts to save the lake but it hasn't been an easy process though it is still ongoing. A number of the lake users say they can now see some light at the end of the tunnel.