GOVT TO ENSURE SAFETY OF INLAND WATERWAYS (SPREAD, FEB 23, 2010)

GHANA is set to incorporate the International Migration Organisation’s model of safety regulations into its statutes following the development of safety and security standards to control transport operations in inland waterways.
The Deputy Transport Minister, Ms Dzifa Attivor, disclosed this at the passing-out parade of 120 Life Guards as part of the Volta Lake Enhancement Project instituted by the ministry in November, 2009.
The programme, put together by Zoil Services Limited, a subsidiary of waste management company Zoomlion, in collaboration with the ministry and its allied bodies, saw the graduates through a two-week programme at the Eastern Naval Command, where they were taken through some basic life-saving programmes such as boat work, survival, foot drill, life-saving skills, voice communication and physical education.
The trainees were drawn from the Northern, Volta, Eastern, Brong Ahafo, Western and the Greater Accra regions.
Ms Attivor said Ghana, as a developing country, had more than 90 per cent of its tonnage of vessels made up of non-conventional ships and vessels.
These vessels, according to the minister, were the only means of transport and livelihood for inhabitants along the Volta Lake.
She said the ministry, as a major stakeholder in the transport business, considered human resource development as a key factor aimed at achieving the government’s development goals, “hence our commitment to improve transportation on the lake to satisfactorily serve the communities towards the enhancement of their social, economic and cultural activities”.
She commended Zoil Services for its determination to help improve the lives of people and charged the graduates to discharge their duties with seriousness as they embraced the crucial expectation of saving lives on the lake.
The General Manager of Zoil Services, Mr Opoku Manu, noted that frequent boat disasters leading to the loss of many lives on the lake necessitated the provision of well-trained life guards at all landing points along the lake to provide emergency life-saving assistance, as well as beef up boat patrols along the lake.
He said the company, in its quest to continually sensitise communities along the lake to ensuring safety, had procured over 10, 000 life jackets for use on the boats.
“It is our belief that the project would not only create jobs for over 2,000 youth, but would enhance the confidence in transporting goods and people across the lake, aimed at increasing economic activity,” he said.
He paid glowing tribute to the government agencies which embraced the policy and provided the needed technical support and encouragement towards the smooth implementation of the programme.
Mr Opoku Manu, on behalf of Zoil Services, presented 100 pieces of plastic chairs and tables and a refrigerator to the command in appreciation of the successful training of the graduates.
The Flag Officer Commanding the Eastern Naval Command, Commodore Albert Bentil Addison, called for the sustainability of the programme.
He challenged the implementation agencies of the programme to develop follow-up modules for assessment and subsequent evaluation.
The Director-General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), Mr Nestor Paul Galley, and the Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), Mr Peter Issaka Azumah, were some of the dignitaries that graced the occasion.