Deputy Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) Moses Anim has assured members of the fishing communities of addressing their concerns on premix fuel smuggling.

He said the ministry has rolled out digitalized measures to curtail the long-standing issues of smuggling of premix meant for fishermen to neighboring countries.

Mr. Anim stated that the ministry took excerpts of the illegal practices among fishermen which were becoming common and worrying to the sector thus, their step.

“Those who take care of the premix and everything attached, they tend to smuggle it into other countries therefore we had to look at digital ways to curb these problems,” the deputy minister noted.

Elaborating on the measures, the minister disclosed that the sector sought the knowledge and invention of Vice President Dr. Bawumia to make it possible.

“The Vice President helped us with his knowledge and wisdom in digitalization. He suggested that we do an automatic dispenser at every landing beach and within the year we have been able to complete 50, out of the 300 Premix Fuel Automation Projects at designated landing sites as of September 2023,” he told Kojo Oppong Kyeremeh.

He noted out of the project that “20 were commissioned while 30 is been connected with electricity bridge to connect.”

Moses Anim added that as such, trackers were placed in each tanker to track the fuel tankers in that regard.

His assurance follows Parliament’s approval of Gh¢298,772,253.00 million budgetary allocation to the MoFAD for the year ending December 31, 2024.

The amount would be used by the ministry to transform the Fisheries and Aquaculture sector into a viable economic segment to contribute to national development.