The ferries currently plying the Volta Lake in Ghana are old and not in good shape, hence should be replaced with new ones, Eric Kwakye Darfour, Minister-designate of the Eastern Region, has said.
According to him, the ferries being used at the moment were procured as far back as the 1970s and, therefore, need to be replaced.
Speaking during his vetting by the Appointments Committee of parliament on Tuesday February 14, he said: “The Volta Lake Transport Company owns the ferries plying on this lake and some of the ferries were acquired as late as 1978 or thereabout, some even before the 1970s and they have become quite obsolete.
“I am aware that during the term of ex-President John Kufuor, there was a component of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) project that should have acquired some ferries and be put on the Volta Lake, but I don’t know what has happened to that project.
“But certainly, the amount of cargo or the amount of transport on the Volta Lake is so significant that we will need to put in some investment to revamp that aspect of our transport sector.”
Answering a question on what he would do to ensure easy acquisition of land in the region, especially in the Afram Plains, for investments, Mr Darfour said: “I cannot say there is a land acquisition problem in the Afram Plains. There are vast acres of land in the Afram Plains virtually lying there for nothing, but we all know that land acquisition in Ghana is a problem whether for building purposes or agricultural purposes.
“I believe that is why we will have the land administration project and I am not very sure where we are on that land administration project, but it is meant to facilitate acquisition of land whatever purposes that we may want to use to do.”
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
