Executive initiates new shipping Bill

To check rampant marine and inland water disasters, the Ministry of Roads and Transport has tabled a new shipping Bill in Parliament.

Provisions of the Bill empowers the Ministry to make regulations concerning safety measures for vessels of less than 24 metres including canoes operating in inland and coastal waters. An official of the ministry, Mr. Thomas Anam, announced this when addressing a one-day workshop on water safety for stakeholders drawn from various fishing communities along the Volta lake at Akateng, in the Manya Krobo district,.

According to Mr. Anam, when passed, the Bill would request that all vessels be equipped with life-saving facilities, importantly, life jackets, radio communication and fire extinguishers, before they sail.

This, he noted, would help avoid loss of life as occurred recently on the high seas, off the coast of Prampram and on the Volta Lake. Mr. Appiah Oppong of the VRA said since safety on the lake was of much concern to the VRA, it intends to encourage the institution of a resource pool with other stakeholders in the marine industry, to check hazards on the waters. To this end, he called on boat-owners to abide by safety regulations and also help identify stumps on their routes for removal.

Mr Oppong announced that a monitoring unit, comprising the Ghana Navy and the VRA will soon be put in place, to track down violations of water safety regulations. Group Captain Simon Akondo (rtd), director of man-made disasters of NADMO, noted that accidents on the lake are normally due to negligence on the part of operators. During an open forum, the operators called on the VRA and the District Assemblies to enact by-laws to check creation of stamps on the lake.