Prudent management of pre-mix fuel saved the nation GH₵36m – Minister
The Government has saved GH₵36 million within two years for the prudent management of the pre-mix fuel and halting the diversion of the commodity.
Additionally, the 286 Landing Beach Committees have accumulated over GH₵7 million in their Community Development Fund accounts from the sale of pre-mix fuel allocated to the community.
Consequently, the National Pre-mix Fuel Secretariat had installed tracking devices at the Secretariat to monitor the movement of the trucks that cart the commodity from the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to the intended destination to check diversion and other corrupt practices.
Madam Elizabeth Afoley Quaye, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, announced this at the Meet-the-Press Series in Accra on Tuesday, to update the public on the Ministry’s activities and achievements and solicit ideas to enhance its policies.
She said, the accumulated amount in the Community Development Fund of the LBCs were being used to fund various developmental projects including market centres, drainage systems, toilet facilities, community-based health planning systems (CHIPS) compounds and hostels, which were at the various stages of completion.
Madam Afoley Quaye said hitherto, the 53 per cent of the proceeds from the sale of pre-mix fuel meant for community development ended up in individual pockets, for funding the construction of political party offices and party activities at the expense of the people.
Explaining how those successes were chalked, the Minister said upon assumption of office by the ruling NPP Government, it constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee comprising the Energy, the Finance, Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, National Petroleum Authority and the National Premix Fuel Secretariat and outlined strategic measures to halt the corruption in the pre-mix fuel sale and management.
The measures implemented by the Inter-Ministerial Committee resulted in the reduction of the number of Landing Beach Committees from 475 to 286, while daily and monthly returns book were introduced for proper record keeping and accountability of the sale of the commodity.
The Minister gave a rundown of the various projects being implemented by her outfit to boost fish stock production, including Aquaculture for Food and Jobs, which would create 80,000 direct and indirect jobs, rehabilitation of fish hatchery centres, construction of more cold stores and ice-making plants for fish preservation, supply of inputs to fishermen at subsidized rate, plans to construct Jamestown Fishing Harbour Complex and vaccination of Volta Lake to avert mass death of tilapia.
She said for the first time in the history of the country, the inshore and artisanal fishers would observe the closed fishing season from May 15 to June 15, while the industrial trawlers would observe theirs from August 2 to September 30, 2019, to allow the mother fish stock to spawn and enable the fingerlings to grow.
Source: GNA