Our ‘Yesterday’ was better than ‘today’-Canoe Owners in Western and Central Decry

Canoe owners and fishers in the Western and Central Regions have accused President Akufo-Addo of rolling back good progress that all his predecessors in the Fourth Republic brought to their trade.

Reacting to the President’s State of the Nation Address (SoNA) delivered last week, the aggrieved canoe owners rejected Akufo-Addo’s claims that he has bolstered the fishing industry, calling that claim “laughable.”

“We therefore find the continuous promises and claims by the president of his goverment having achieved a robust fishing industry not only laughable but disingenuous, and we hereby appeal to him to up his game and walk his talk,” they canoe owners told a press conference.

They point out that rather than the best the President claim, many fishing vessels have had to be grounded because of decline under Akufo-Addo.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the fishing work has seen a steady decline since the assumption of office of President Akufo Addo. As we speak, a total of 584 canoes across the country (per our count) have grounded and their teams disbanded.”

They give breakdown as – Volta Region, 76, Greater Accra, 152, Central Region, 244, and Western Region, 112 grounded canoes.

“The situation has resulted in a total of 10,512 losses of direct jobs. This is aside the uncountable numbers of fishmongers, fish carriers, canoe secretaries, canoe guards and other auxiliary workers who have also lost their jobs. This is certainly gives cause for concern. Doesn’t it? 

“Aside the baseless and needless closures of the sea by the Akufo Addo administration, pair trawling has returned with full force under this government. The smuggling of premix fuel which became a thing of the past under the Mills and Mahama administrations has also returned with a big bang.

“The most painful of our current plight is access to outboard motors for our expedition. Since the assumption of office by the Akufo Addo government, we are yet to receive a single outboard motor from the government, contrary to the several promises and claims the president continues to make and tout. The sale of outboard motors has suddenly become a black market business. Outboard motors which used to be everywhere and easily accessible under the erstwhile administration are now suddenly the most unavailable commodity on the market.

According to them, developments under Akufo-Addo are a sharp contrast to what pertained under his predecessors, especially former Presidents Mills and Mahama on whom they have bestowed on whom they have bestowed the title “Afar Kwegya ll”  and Afar Kwegya lll respectively. “Afar Kwegya means father of fishers.

According to them, former President Rawlings was Afar Kwegya l. former President Kufuor was not really fatherly to the fishers like Mills and Mahama werte but even his administration was not as bad as Akufo-Addo’s.