Member of Parliament for Ada in the Greater Accra Region, Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe has requested that the Ministry of Transport take into account allocating funds from the budget to buy life jackets for coastal communities all over the nation.
This comes after five people perished over the weekend when their boat capsized on the Volta Lake near Ada.
The legislator contends that while the incident is being investigated, the government must place a higher priority on protecting the lives of people living in coastal areas.
“Others argue that the canoe owner must get his own life jacket. I agree but there is what we call social intervention. The Minister of Transport fixes potholes, put bitumen and asphalt on roads so when he does his budget, what does he do for those who live at the riverbanks? They are equally important as those who use the roads so can’t he allocate something small for them to get life jackets?”
A boat carrying mourners capsized on the Volta Lake on Saturday morning, leaving five people confirmed dead.
The boat capsized on the lake as it was ferrying the mourners from Azizanya to Azizakpe. During the search for additional survivors, it has been reported that five people died instantly.
Strong winds are thought to be to blame for the incident, which happened on Saturday around 9 a.m.
According to a witness account, the incident occurred as about 100 people were travelling across Azizakpe, an island community, on a passenger boat with 40 seats.
The five dead persons were three children below the age of three and two women. All passengers were without life jackets.
Three children under the age of three and two women made up the group of five fatalities. No one was wearing a life jacket.
