Veep cuts sod for two projects at Winneba

Back page (lead), November 28/2008

Story: Charles Benoni Okine, Winneba

THE Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, last Wednesday cut the sod for the commencement of work on two major projects totalling €21 million at Winneba in the Central Region.
The projects are a fishing wharf to replace the fish landing site in the town and a district hospital to improve the provision of medical services for the people.
The Vice-President said the fishing wharf project was one of a total of 14 fishing harbours and landing sites, which also included the construction of six cold storage facilities for the people in the fishing communities in the country.
He said each of the harbours and landing sites will ensure calmer waters, have an area for mending nets, a premix fuel depot, cold stores and refrigeration facilities; crèches or day care centres, administration blocks, power stations, fish markets and net storage sheds.
Reports indicate that about 10 per cent of the country’s population is engaged in fishing and fisheries-related activities.
The country’s fish consumption requirement stood at 720,000 metric tonnes as of 2005 as against the total fish supplies of 400,000, leaving a deficit of 320,000.
Against this background, Alhaji Mahama said the government had structured a policy for a more focused attention to the fisheries sector of the economy to promote accelerated and sustainable fisheries aquaculture development as a tool to reduce poverty and enhance foreign exchange earnings.
He said the modernisation and revamping of the fisheries sector of the economy had entailed taking bold steps to introduce the use of fibre glass for the construction of canoes and boats with inboard engines.
Alhaji Mahama said in some fishing communities, lives, canoes and fishing gear had been lost during high tides and stormy weather which occurred during the rainy seasons and reiterated that the harbours and loading sites would be constructed in a way that would calm the tides to ensure safe landing.
He said in order to ensure efficient management of the projects across the country, a Fishing Harbours and Landing Sites Management Authority as well as a Cold Store and Refrigeration Authority are to be set up.
On the hospital project, Alhaji Mahama said the government was aware of the major challenges that faced the health sector in the past and noted that efforts were underway to restore the health facilities to their former glory not only by refurbishing and expanding existing ones but by adding more to meet demand.
He said the Winneba project was selected due to its strategic location in terms of handling trauma care as it lay along the major Trans-West Africa highway.
The Minister of Fisheries, Mrs Gladys Asmah, said fishing schools were to be established to train the youth who wanted to take fishing as a profession.
She was of the view that the projects would not only create jobs for the people but also provide them with sustainable income as well as transform the town.
Mr Samuel Owusu-Adjei, the Minister of Public Sector Reforms and the sitting Member of Parliament for the area said the government had fulfilled many of its promises to the people.