In what appears to be evidence of what pertains in radio parlance as ‘radio gets results,’ the Volta River Authority seems to have heeded the cause championed by the Mobilizing Action Towards Agricultural Sector Improvement’s ‘Feed the Future Platform,’ on the need to urgently rid the Volta lake of aquatic weeds which have been the bane of the local fisherfolks.
The radio station as part of its responsibilities had aired a documentary entitled, ‘Save Our Water; Improve Our Livelihood,’ where the dire challenges encountered by all who find themselves in the value chain of fish production were laid bare.
Fisher folks who fished on the lake had consistently complained about the aquatic weeds which had taken over the water body and thus making fishing difficult, a cause Rite FM took upon itself to champion. The Volta River Authority has however over the past few days began a calculated exercise to clear the weeds off the river banks of the river, something that has come as a sigh of relief to the fishermen whose source of livelihood depend on catching fish here.
However, assembly member for Kpong Zongopon in the Lower Manya Krobo municipality of the Eastern region, hon Siba, though impressed with the response of the VRA, has landed a scathing criticism against the river controlling body. He blamed them for the neglect of the Kpong water body which resulted in the aquatic weeds taking over sections of the water body and significantly affecting fish catch in the Volta Lake.
A frustrated Mr. Siba who thought the clearing of the weeds was long overdue, said the VRA was not playing its role in this drive until the intervention of Rite FM and its ‘Feed The Future Platform’, a situation that left him ‘unhappy.’
Mr. Siba who was speaking on the ‘Feed The Future Platform’ of the Mobilizing Action Towards Agricultural Sector Improvement, MAASI, on Tuesday, argued that the welfare of Africa’s largest manmade lake, the Volta Lake rested squarely at the feet of the VRA, a responsibility they have woefully failed to live up to over the years.
Also contributing his take on the show, former Assembly Member for the area, Nash, said he was aware that the clearing of the weeds began about a year ago only for work to stall along the way due to the breakdown of the machines for the process of clearing the weeds. He said that could have been avoided if the Volta River Authority did a better consultation while insisting that the manual workers tasked to clear the weeds have done a better job.
Source: ritefmonline.org
