President Mahama Appeals To Fisher-Folks To Pay Promptly

President John Dramani Mahama on Friday called on all fisher-folks throughout the country to pay for fishing inputs promptly to enable government to acquire more funds for the future. He said the payment would also make the fisher-folks responsible to attract financial support from institutions. President Mahama said this when he interacted with chiefs and people of Elmina Traditional Area as part of his two- day official visit to the Central Region. It was also attended by Mr Samuel Sarpong, Central Regional Minister, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia and Anita Desosoo, General Secretary and Women Organiser of the National Democratic Congress respectively, Ama Benyiwa-Doe, member of the Council of State, among other dignitaries. The president on his first day visited and interacted with the chiefs and people of Anyanfuri and Dunkwa-on -Offin and commissioned a $100 million dollar, Assin-Praso - Asante Bekwai road. He also visited and inspected on-going construction of the Kotokuraba Market and the construction of a new sports stadium in the Cape Coast municipality. President Mahama said government would continue to subsidise pre-mix fuel to enable fishermen to increase their catch and maximise profits in the fishing industry. The President promised that bridges and roads would also be fixed to facilitate the haulage of their catch from the sea to marketing centers throughout the country. President Mahama commended them for keeping the beaches neat, a situation he said would attract more commercial activities and promote tourism in the Central Region. Mr Nayon Bilijo,Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development gave the assurance that his outfit would provide logistics such as fishing nets and outboard motors early enough to enable them to keep in trend with the current climate changes in the fishing areas. He said government would also distribute cold stores to the fishing communities to enable them to store their catch in the coming months. On Insurance for the fisher-folks, the Minister said pilot projects would be implemented this year to provide insurance cover for them against accidents on the high seas. Mr Bilijo commended the fisher-folks for denouncing the use of chemicals and other unorthodox means of fishing since last year.