Skip to main content

Transport Ministry, ECOZOIL educate boat owners, passengers in Eastern Region

 As part of a nationwide programme to protect lives on Ghana’s water bodies, boat owners and passengers at Akateng in the Upper Manya Krobo of the Eastern Region have been senistised on various safety protocols.

Among the safety measures include avoiding overloading, wearing of life jackets and also keeping the boats and canoes tidy at all times. Additionally, the boat owners and commuters were also given free life jackets.

The programme is an initiative of the government through the Ministry of Transport in partnership with ZOIL (ECOZOIL), one of the subsidiaries of the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC). It is equally aimed at cleaning the country’s landing sites and its surrounding communities.

Addressing the media, the General Manager (GM) of ZOIL, Abitha Odame-Nyanteh, expressed her outfit’s delight in collaborating with the government to undertake this project.

Aside from protecting lives of commuters on the Volta Lake, we also assist in training individuals to set up control units to monitor various activities of the clean-up exercise on the landing sites,” she added.

Transport Ministry, ECOZOIL, boat owners, passengers, Eastern Region

This, she explained, will help create job avenues and also reduce the unemployment rate in the country.

This project is not only for Akateng but a national exercise. And I pray it helps reduce the incidence of accidents on our water bodies to protect precious lives of Ghanaians,” she expressed.

According to her, the core mission of the JGC which ZOIL is a member is to improve lives of Ghanaians.
She was hopeful that the programme after its completion would yield positive impacts in helping to “save lives on our water bodies.”

The National Coordinator for Volta Lake Transport Safety Project, Yaa Oforiwaa, explained that the programme was necessitated by safety concerns on the Volta Lake.

Following concerns of safety on our Volta Late, the Ministry of Transport partnered ZOIL to undertake this project of massive clean-up exercise on the country’s landing sites, and also educate the inhabitants around the landing sites as well as boat operators across the country,” she said.

She said the landing sites on the Volta Lake have become so untidy, a situation that was posing health risks to residents.

It is along this reason that the Ministry of Transport partnered ZOIL to undertake this all important exercise. And in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goal Six (Clean Water and Sanitation), it is required that we give our valuable Ghanaians access to healthy and quality water and also improve the sanitation of our various communities and Ghana as a whole,” she indicated.

Transport Ministry, ECOZOIL, boat owners, passengers, Eastern Region

She, therefore, entreated residents around water bodies to change their attitudes, cautioning them to refrain from dumping refuse into the lake.

For all you know, the lake rejects this dumped refuse, posing a lot of health threats,” she noted.

She was upbeat that the ongoing public education will promote safety on the Volta Lake.

This is because we have provided them with logistics like life jackets to protect lives on the lake,” she disclosed.

Read also: Volta Lake: Massive clean-up of landing sites

Also, in order to sustain this exercise, a group of people have been trained to be monitoring always. This is not a one-off exercise but a continuous one which will be carried out nationwide,” she assured.

Oforiwaa stated that the public education was also to educate people to appreciate the essence of maintaining a serene environment.
Some boat owners who spoke to the media were excited about the programme.

Nartey Quainoo, a Boat Inspector and an owner, was full of praise for the partnership between the Ministry of Transport and ECOZOIL to protect lives on the Volta Lake.

We will take the education serious, and I as a boat inspector and an owner will ensure that henceforth, there will be no overloading of passengers on the boats to avoid accidents on the lake. I will also ensure that all my passengers have life jackets on,” he gave a firm assurance.

Madam Juliana Odi, a market woman who also spoke to the media, commended ECOZOIL for the donation of the life jackets.

We as market women use the boat regularly for our trading business. And in fact getting life jackets is a real headache. We are, therefore, grateful for the donation of life jackets by ECOZOIL. It will go a long way to save lives of commuters,” she expressed.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nestlé Ghana Limited Wins Overall Best Industrial Company Of The Year at 13th AGI Industry & Quality Awards

  Nestlé Ghana Limited has been honored with four prestigious awards at the 13th Association of Ghana Industry and Quality Awards ceremony. The event, held in an esteemed setting, gathered prominent figures from Ghana’s industrial sector. Amidst the anticipation, Nestlé Ghana emerged as one of the evening’s notable winners, securing accolades in several key categories. This recognition underscores Nestlé Ghana’s relentless pursuit of excellence and innovation, marking a significant milestone that highlights the company’s substantial contributions to the manufacturing industry in Ghana. Nestlé Ghana's exceptional performance was acknowledged with the following awards: Overall Best National Quality Award, Diamond Category (Food) Overall Best Practices in Sustainable Manufacturing Best Company (Food Sector) Overall Industrial Company of the Year, affirming its status as a leader not only within the food sector but also across Ghana's entire industrial landscape. This success is a ...

Anglogold Ashanti Obuasi Mine tops 2024 Sustainability & Social Investment Awards

 AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine has confirmed its status as sustainability champions by sweeping nine awards, the most won by a company at the 2024 Sustainability & Social Investment Awards (SSI) held at Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra. The feat comes on the heels of a dominant performance in last year's event where AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine swept seven awards. The SSI Awards organised by Ianmatsun Global Services recognizes the most outstanding sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives in the country and beyond as well as the best teams and individuals who brought them to life. This year's event, which was the 8th edition, was under the theme "Climate Action Now: Accelerating Decarbonization and Building Resilience". The awards won by AngloGold Ashanti on the night include SSI Company of the Year, Best Company in Women Empowerment (project), SSI Company of the Year ( Environment), Best Co...

Zoomlion Advocates Community & Gender inclusive waste management for Climate Action at COP 29

 Africa's waste management giant, Zoomlion Ghana Limited has advocated for an integrated approach to waste management that considers the interest of community members, women and vulnerable groups. James Deku, a Communications Officer of Zoomlion Ghana Limited made this call at the 29th session of the Conference Of Parties (COP 29) of the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) at Azerbaijan, Baku whiles speaking on the topic "Community-Driven and Gender Inclusive approaches to waste management for Climate Action ". He said the waste sector is a major contributor of methane emissions which is a potent greenhouse gas causing climate change hence the need to manage waste in a manner that considers the interest of all stakeholders. Zoomlion's waste management model is designed and operated in a manner that considers the interest of all stakeholders. Through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, local authorities engage community members in clea...