Samuel Agbewode
The lack of lifejackets on boats is posing danger to passengers travelling on the Oti River and Volta Lake.
According to the Dambai Boat Owners Association (BOA) in the
Krachi-East Municipality of the Oti Region, lifejackets were necessary to save
lives in the event of a boat accident.
Speaking in an exclusive interview at Dambai, the Chairman
of BOA, Mr Daniel Kofi Tseki, appealed to non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
and philanthropists to help provide lifejackets for passengers in the Krachi-East
Municipality, to protect lives on the two water bodies which were the only mode
of transportation for the people in that part of the country.
He said life jackets were expensive and difficult to come by
and the boat owners in the Krachi-East Municipality could not procure them for
passengers.
According to him, boats operating in the municipality could
carry between 50 and 75 people and it was financially out of reach for boat
operators to procure life jackets for passengers.
"The use of boat is the only predominant means of
transportation in the Krachi-East area and that emphasises the need for
philanthropists, the government and NGOs to help procure lifejackets for
passengers to make water transportation attractive and safe to the people at
all times," he said.
Mr Tseki explained that even though the government had
removed stubs in the Volta Lake, it did not guarantee total safety travelling on
the lake and the rivers, as the only way to protect lives was through the use
of lifejackets.
He announced that there were over 240 boats operating in the
area without lifejackets, and that put the life of passengers at risk, adding
that "As seat belts are important in vehicles, so is lifejackets for boats
as it protect lives in case of accidents."
Mr Tseki said the removal of stubs in the Volta Lake only
reduced the risk of accidents but that was not the only means of disaster in
water transportation.
He said natural occurrences such as storms remained a major
problem to transportation on the lake and the river, and the only way to
protect lives was by wearing lifejackets.
Mr Tseki explained that a big boat, for instance, carried 75
passengers and medium boats carried 50 passengers and a boat should have
between 75 and 60 lifejackets for the passengers to help protect lives when a
storm hits a boat in high waters.
The Officer-in-charge of the Naval Detached Station at
Dambai, Petty Officer Class One (PO1), Livingstone Badza, said naval personnel
at the station normally educated the boat owners on the need to secure
lifejackets for passengers to promote safety.
POI Badza said personnel normally checked the water-marks on
the boats to ensure that the boats would not overload, and explained that in
case where boats carried loads more than their weights which could lead to
accidents, the acceptable number of passengers of 75 and 50 would be reduced to
prevent overloading.
He said personnel of the Naval Detached Station also
inspected the quality of the boats and engines, and explained that the big
boats per standards used two engines.
Mr Badza said where a boat operator operated on one engine
because the other had developed fault, he or she was prevented from working
until the second engine was fixed, and explaining that using only one engine
for a big boat could easily lead to accidents.