The President, John Evans Atta Mills has rendered an unqualified apology to demonstrating fishermen who were allegedly battered by police officers a week ago.
The President met the leaders of the fishermen at the Castle Tuesday June 21, at which he expressed regret for their ill treatment. Hundreds of the fishermen demonstrated in Accra last week to protest the non-enforcement of the ban on light fishing and pair-trawling.
They however clashed with the police as they insisted on going to the Osu Castle to present their petition to President Mills himself.
Addressing the Fishermen at the Castle, President Mills noted that his administration has attached a lot of importance to the fishing industry and therefore would do everything possible to improve fishing in Ghana�s waters.
�Tell your people that we are very much with them. Next time I and the minister would come to talk to you�what we have done is to seek the best interest of our fishermen. People may look at it from a different angles but that is exactly what we want to do�.
President Mills asked all fishing authorities to arrest any persons who come to them as his relative for favours as far as the premix fuel distribution is concerned.
�If people come round to collect money for premix the first people you should arrest are those who hold themselves as the President�s relatives. Put them before court and give them as much publicity as you can because the people of Ghana have reposed confidence in me. I know what my relatives can do and those who say are my relatives would never behave that way�.
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