The Deputy Minister for Transport, Dorcas Affo-Toffey, has paid a working visit to the Jamestown Fishing Harbour in Accra, which has not been functioning for some time now.
The purpose of the visit was to have insight and assess activities of the Habour and how to improve on the facility.
Also with the Deputy Minister was the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Emilia Arthur, and other dignitaries from the two ministries.
The construction of Jamestown Fishing Harbour began in the year 2018 under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo.
The sixty-million-dollar Chinese grant project was expected to create employment for residents of Jamestown and boost trading activities and increase revenue not just for residents but for the country, but had lived to its purpose.
The project had witnessed five sod-cutting ceremonies by previous governments and it took over a year after the sod cutting for construction to commence.
The Jamestown Fishing Harbour, a state-of-the-art facility, had been eagerly anticipated since the 1960s, when discussions of constructing a modern fishing port for the area first began.
The then president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, officially commissioned the long-awaited Jamestown Fishing Harbour on Friday, September 13, 2024, four months before leaving office.
Since its commissioning, the harbour has not been functioning as it was expected to.
It was based on this purpose that Madam Affo-Toffey visited to have firsthand information of their operations which was also part of the government’s commitment to improving facilities and operations at the harbour.
Speaking to the media during the visit, Madam Affo-Toffey, who is also the Member of Parliament for Jomoro, said soon, the harbour will commence full operations.
“The major problem was the water issue, so through the intervention of my boss, the Transport Minister, and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), they have been able to resolve that, and they have also realised that they cannot even connect to the Ghana Water, which had been done because without water, they couldn’t operate it. So now that the water issue has been resolved, the ice plant is also working, and the market is also working now”.
She said the only thing left now is the cold store which they are working on it to ensure it begins work.
“So our reason for being here is to see how they are working and what is delaying. Now the iced plant is working, the fish market is also working, the only thing left is the cold store and they are working to make sure it is operations”, Madam Affo-Toffey added.
By Timothy Antwi-Otoo|3news.com|Ghana