Boat owners to be prosecuted

Accra, Nov 6, GNA- Government on Thursday said those found to be liable for the accident on the Volta Lake on April 18, last year, in which 50 people died would be prosecuted.

This followed the acceptance of the findings and recommendations of the six-member committee of inquiry set up to investigate the incident under the chairmanship of Mr Justice Paul Gyaesayor, the Supervising High Court judge in Ho.

The accident involved a boat travelling from Tapa Abotoase in the Jasikan District of the Volta region to Matsale in the Afram Plains. The boat was carrying 88 instead of 53 passengers.

Briefing the press on Thursday in Accra, Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Ekumfi, Minister of Ports, Harbours and Railways (MPHR) said government has, therefore, directed the MPHR to implement the recommendations to prevent future occurrence of such tragedies. He said the MPHR would liase with the Attorney General's Department investigate and prosecute persons responsible for the accident.

The Minister said government had taken this move based on the findings which identified the main cause of the accident was over loading.

It was also found that the boat operators did not observe safety measures to save life and property in case of an accident, and was not marked and licensed by the shipping and navigation division of the Volta River Authority in accordance with the Volta River Development (Lake traffic) Regulations, 1974(L.I.862).

The boat lacked basic life-saving devices and appliances such as life jackets, life buoys and buoyant apparatus and a lot of tree stumps, which constituted a hazard to safe navigation.

The MPHR has also been charged with the responsibility of establishing before the end of this year, a Lake Traffic Control Unit to monitor, survey and enforce safety of transportation on the Volta Lake. He said the Ministry was directed to take urgent steps to implement its plans and measures drawn up to address the problem of safety of transportation on the Lake.

The Ministry would also ensure the effective implementation of the Ghana Shipping Act and recognise the Ghana Maritime Authority as the agency responsible for the safety of transportation and navigation in land waterways and the provision of suitable communication facilities on the Volta Lake.

Prof Ameyaw-Ekumfi said the newly created Ghana Maritime Authority would manage and control landing stations and the conferment of regulatory and enforcement responsibilities on the Volta River Authority (VRA).