The conservatory order halts implementation of the new regulations until February 10, 2025.

The orders were issued after the matter came up for direction before Justice E.C. Mwita.

"A conservatory order is hereby issued suspending implementation of The Fisheries Management and Development (Aquaculture) Regulations, 2024, until 10th February 2025".

The judge also ordered that pleadings be served immediately and the responses to the application and petition be filed and served within 14 days after service.

Mwita also directed that the petitioner will then have 14 days after service to file and serve a supplementary affidavit, if need be, together with written submissions to both the application and petition.

Direction on the matter will be given on February 10, 2025.

The Lake Victoria Aquaculture Association (LVA) had filed a constitutional petition on December 23, seeking to halt the implementation of the Fisheries Management Development (Aquaculture) Regulations 2024. 

The new regulations were set to take effect on January 1, 2025.

The regulations were gazetted by the Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy, and Maritime Affairs, Ali Hassan Joho, in Legal Notice No. 126.

The CS for Mining had been listed as the first respondent, the Attorney General as the second respondent, while the Council of Governors had been listed as an interested party in the petition.

According to the association, the new regulations include punitive licensing fees and ad valorem charges, which, if implemented, could severely cripple the aquaculture sector, which has been a significant contributor to Kenya's food security and economic development. 

They highlighted the sixth schedule of the regulations, which imposes a Sh50,000 licensing fee on all aquaculture establishments operating in public waters—regardless of their size—coupled with a 5 per cent ad valorem fee on the value of landed fish.

They warned that these fees would increase the cost of doing business within the sector.

According to the petition, these new charges would drive up the price of locally produced fish, making it less affordable for Kenyan consumers.

The LVA further claimed that the regulations could lead to significant job losses in an industry that directly employs more than 100,000 people and supports more than 500,000 households.

The LVA Board Secretary, Pete Ondeng, stated in a sworn affidavit that the regulations fail to account for the scale and capacity of various aquaculture enterprises. 

Ondeng noted that most of the enterprises were small-scale operations that employed between 5 and 10 people, many of whom are women and youth.

The association further claimed that the proposed ad valorem fees undermined Kenya’s food security objectives by making the cost of production—and ultimately, the price of fish—prohibitively high. 

Ondeng also pointed out that the Cabinet Secretary did not conduct public participation before gazetteing the regulations, a process the petitioners argue is constitutionally required.

The petitioners are asking the court to rule that the new licensing and ad valorem fees are discriminatory, unconstitutional, and in violation of the legitimate expectations of stakeholders in the aquaculture industry.

 They also seek an order temporarily halting the implementation of the regulations until the case is heard and determined.

Source - https://www.the-star.co.ke