In order to curtail the hoarding and diversion of premix fuel, the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Madam Mavis Hawa Koomson, has indicated that the supply of the fuel would be automated.
She said every fisherman would be issued a card to enable them draw fuel from the tanker.
She indicated that it would help reduce hoarding, in that the Ministry would be able to monitor the quantity of fuel that was drawn each time.
“Very soon, we will be automating the supply of premix fuel, so every fisherman who is supposed to have the fuel will be issued with a card on which the subsidy will be placed on, and then they will use that one to draw the fuel.
“I believe when we do this, it will help us reduce the hoarding and diversion of premix fuel.”
The Minister made this known to the media in Parliament yesterday.
She had been invited by the House to respond to questions on measures her Ministry had put in place to respond to a second warning issued by the European Union for Ghana to definitively check illegal fishing activities, what the Ministry did for the fisher-folks during the close season, and measures to curtail hoarding of premix fuel.
Responding to steps the government had taken, regarding the European Union warning, Minister Hawa said that the Ministry and the European Union had set up a dialogue committee, and indicated that the team would be provided with the measures Ghana intended to put in place to curtail illegal fishing.
Outlining some of these measures, the Minister said the government had given approval for the purchase of patrol boats and research vessels to fight illegal fishing activities on Ghana’s sea.
Other initiatives are that the Ministry was working with the Ghana Navy to help fight the menace, and “we are also providing the fisher-folks with approved fishing net,” Madam Hawa said.
“Apart from these, we have also intensified our land patrol, and have also banned Saiko fishing. Since September, we have not had any report of Saiko as we speak. So these are some of the things we are doing in response to the EU sanction,” the Minister said.
She added that some laws, which borders on fishing, including Act 2008 and Acts 625, as well as the Fisheries Management Act, were all being reviewed to help salvage the situation.
Speaking on what the Ministry did for fisher-folks during the close season, the Minister indicated that the fisher-folks were provided with some relief items, including 15,000 bags of rice, 6,250 gallons of cooking oil, fishing nets, and some outboard motors at a subsidised price.
