Fishermen living at Tema Newtown have threatened to stop the expansion project at the Tema Port if their compensations are not paid to them.
The fishermen said the Meridian Ports Service (MPS) has taken them for ‘fools’ for three years after the latter had agreed to compensate fishermen living along five coastal areas for the adversarial outcome the port expansion project would have on their occupation.
The Tema Port expansion project is being undertaken through a joint venture between Meridian Port Holdings Limited and GPHA, with Bollore Transport and Logistics and APM Terminals as the two main shareholders.
The fund for the project, which started in 2016, is US$1.5 billion, and it was secured by MPS under the International Finance Compact IFC, a subsidiary of the World Bank Group and its stakeholders.
Adjetey Tawiah, Secretary of the Tema Canoe Owners Association, narrated that during consultations for the construction of the Tema Port Expansion Project, MPS, as well as the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) and all allied stakeholders in the project, held a meeting with the fishermen from Tema Newtown, Nungua, Sakumono, Kpone and Prampram Canoe Basin to agree on a US$1.5 million compensation package.
Too, the package included scholarships to the children of the fishermen.
But three years after the agreement between the two parties was entered, Adjetey Tawiah said MPS had not paid a dime to the fishermen, neither had it given their children the scholarships.
He said they had severally petitioned MPS and its allied stakeholders to remind them of the agreement, yet, their recipient had not responded.
“Our frantic checks at the four landing beaches on the matter was negative…MPS has failed to pay us the compensation,” he said.
Adjetey Tawiah schooled that the port expansion has migrated fish species afar, as a result of the dredging of the sea for sand for the project, which has created a deeper depth, thus, creating an eddy, which is risky for canoes to anchor for fishermen to cast their nets to catch fishes.
“The continuous drilling and blasting of rocks have further worsened our plight and for many months now, we have to dangerously sail very far to get fishes. Our livelihood is hanging and we want to pour out on the streets to demand our compensation,” he said.
But, some MPS officials, who pleaded anonymity, told awakenewsonline that all payments had been made to the relevant authorities at the Ministries and other relevant authorities, explaining that the compensation was included in the US$1.5 billion total funding for the project.
The fund had been issued out and the MPS officials expressed shock that the fishermen had not received their compensation.
The first phase of the expansion project is due for completion in June 2019 and this, the fishermen said, was the reason they would soon announce their wild demonstration against the MPS for ending their livelihood.
By: Umar Sheriff/awakenewsonline.com
