By Laudia Sawer/Elizabeth Baah
Tema, Sept 16, GNA - Premix vendors at the Tema Canoe Landing Beach have been cautioned against hoarding the fuel at the expense of fishermen.
Mr Felix Mensah Nii Anang-La, Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive gave the caution on Monday after discovering 90 barrels of premix fuel at the various pumping stations at the canoe beach.
Mr Anang-La accompanied by other officials and personnel of the Counter Terrorism Unit of the Ghana Police Service and Tema Metro Taskforce, stormed the pumping stations to ascertain several complaints he had received from fishermen concerning the hoarding of the premix at the place.
He expressed displeasure at the behavior of the Premix Fuel Committee stating that “see how you are keeping barrels of premix here while fishermen are looking for a few gallons to go to sea, your behavior is making us unpopular and we will not condone such acts”.
He added that the 90 barrels of fuel discovered was equivalent to two tankers of fuel, a situation he described as unacceptable.
Some fishermen and fishmongers who were excited about the operation at the canoe beach mobbed the team in a bid to put forth their grievances and effects of the hoarding on their businesses.
Mr Emmanuel Dodoo, a fisherman told the Ghana News Agency that people who did not own canoes were served the fuel when the tankers arrived at the basin at a price of GH¢480.00 per barrel (a barrel contains 70 gallons) but ends up selling to it between GH¢1,000.00 and GH¢1,200.00
Mr Dodoo added that the operators did not allow any fisherman to buy directly at the pump but would rather discharge into the barrels of the middle men making it impossible for them to get some to buy if they refused to purchase from them.
Mr Kwaku Nyame, a fisherman, corroborating the claims of other fishermen, said instead of giving every canoe some small quantity of premix to go to sea, they rather give to people they say are “protocols” saying “those on that protocol list always get fuel even though they don’t own canoes”.
Nii Odametey II, Chief Fisherman for Tema Awudung, reacting to the operation, told the Ghana News Agency that they sold the fuel to fisher-folks at a price of GH¢7.10 at the pump denying that the product was been hoarded.
Nii Odametey claimed that the discovered barrels of fuel at the beach had not been hoarded for resale but rather belonged to fishermen who would go for long expeditions and therefore needed large quantities of premix.
He said they kept the fuel there as it was risky keeping such fuel at home because it could cause a disaster should it get in contact with naked fire.
The Tema Canoe landing beach has over 8,000 registered canoes and about 100 canoes from neighbouring fishing communities also dock there daily.
GNA
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