A scene at the shore
FISHERMEN in some coastal communities of the Western Region have indicated that the recent shortage of premix fuel in the region was affecting their work.
They asserted that fishing activities in the coastal communities were gradually grinding to a halt due to the shortage of the product.
They stated in separate interviews that even though they had money to purchase the fuel at the current price of GH¢100 per gallon, they could not get the product to buy.
They said they have therefore resorted to buying petrol and mixing it with engine oil, to power their canoes for fishing in other to survive.
Speaking to DAILY GUIDE in an interview, Francis Kwofie Jnr., Secretary to the Canoe Owners in Axim, said the situation was affecting the local economy.
“The situation is having an adverse effect on our fishing expedition. Why should fishermen always have to struggle to get adequate supply of the fuel?” he quizzed.
He also complained about perceived political interferences which often affected the effectiveness of the distribution of the fuel.
At Ngyiresia, a fishing community near Sekondi, Grant Ewuah, a fisherman, also lamented the shortage of premix fuel has become an annual ritual.
According to them, the petroleum product has been in short supply for over a month now, making life quite unbearable.
He asserted that the desire by some middlemen to make profit sometimes influence the diversion of the subsidised product.
Vice President of the Canoe Owners Association at the Sekondi Landing Beach, Paa Solomon, also indicated fishermen would not be perturbed even if the government increased the price of pre-mix fuel to be at par with regular fuel at the fuel stations.
He believed this will ensure availability of the product to save the fishing industry.
“For close to two months now, fishermen at the Sekondi Landing Beach have not received any supplies,” he said.
FROM Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi