The National Inland Canoe Fishermen Council (NICFC) has appealed to the government to increase the prices of premix fuel from the current GH¢7.50p to GH¢10.00.
According to the Council, the increment has become necessary in order to support the ongoing nationwide automation of the premix fuel at the various fishing communities in the country.
The Council said the move will also help the fisherfolks to do away with the middlemen who always hijack the fuel from the local fishermen and sell to them at exorbitant prices.
Speaking to the REPUBLIC PRESS, the President of the NICFC, Mr. Jacob Kabore Tetteh Ageke said the past few years, premix fuel was bedeviled with issues of double sales, protocol sales and sometimes the fuel end up in the hands of political party leaders.
Mr. Kabore said after the council had a dialogue with the fisherfolks, they met with the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mrs. Mavis Hawa Koomson where they agreed to automate the premix fuel to ensure that the system do away with the middlemen.
He said the LI 2233 which establishes the National Premix Fuel Committee Regulations, 2016 with the mandate of facilitating the procurement and distribution of premix fuel to the fishing communities in the hinterlands has their backing.
The NICFC is made up of the fishermen who ply their trade on the Volta Lake which comprises of 1600 communities within 32 district and eight regions.
“The premix fuel is not for any chairman but fishermen in all the fishing communities so after the automation, premix fuel will no longer be seen among party chairman, the office of the District Chief Executive and other party faithful,” he stated.
Mr. Kabore said the increase will help fund the activities of NICFC because at it stands, fishermen do not pay dues to finance their activities unlike the past where premix fuel are sold at the black market around GH¢25.00 to GH¢30.00.
He added that the automation will also ensure that the premix fuel is made available to the fisher folks adding that the council is also looking at building a modern inland market, deal with issues of child labour in the fishing communities, establish a loan scheme for fisherfolks and also look at their safety.
He called on the media to ignore calls from some disgruntled members of the council who are going from one media house to the other that the current executives have no mandate.
The President said, the council has detected some lapses in the constitution and are currently working towards its implementation adding that a group of lawyers and others professor have volunteered in drafting a new one.
