Boat operators, and passengers at Dambai in the Krachi East Municipality of the Oti Region, are appealing to the Government to provide them with lifejackets. They said the life jackets would help save lives and property while travelling on the River Oti. Dambai, the regional capital of Oti, is located along the banks of River Oti, this makes it a strategic town as far as transportation by boat and fishing are concerned. The regional capital plays host to a crucial business market centre, allowing over 200 boats and canoes to land, to mainly cart goods from the surroundings that use the Dambai market as a shore, especially on Mondays and Tuesdays. A visit to the shore by the Ghana News Agency (GNA), revealed that not a single boat operator had a life jacket that would protect them in emergency situations. Mr Kagyi Kwaku, boat owner, said the issue of life jackets is a major challenge confronting their operations and that the Government should assist them with life jackets for their safety. He added that the provision of life jackets would impact positively on their operations and on their lives. Mr Daniel Kofi Checki, chairman of Boat Operators Association (BOA), appealed to Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) and philanthropists to help provide life jackets for passengers 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 lifejackets were expensive and difficult to come by and the boat owners in the Municipality could not procure them for passengers. He told the GNA that boats operating in the Municipality could carry between 50 and 75 people and it was financially out of reach for boat operators to procure the life jackets. 'The use of boat is the only predominant means of transportation in the area and that emphasises the need for philanthropists, government and NGOs to help procure lifejackets for passengers to make water transportation attractive and safe to the people at all times,' he said. He stated that natu ral occurrences such as storms remained a major problem for transportation on the River Oti, and the only way to protect lives was by wearing lifejackets. Source: Ghana News Agency
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