Bui Power Authority scales-up effort to protect fish resources
The Bui Power Authority (BPA), Managers of the Bui Dam in the Banda District of Brong-Ahafo Region, is scaling-up effort to protect the fish resource in the Bui reservoir and enhance the socio-economic activities of the local dwellers.
It has constructed 502 concrete slabs at the cost of GH¢1.8 million for the resettled fish folks who were directly or indirectly affected by the construction of the 400 megawatts hydro-power generation plant.
The slabs were built at the two fish landing sites constructed by the Authority at Bongase (300 slabs) in the Brong-Ahafo Region section of the Dam and Jama in the Northern Region section of the Project (202 slabs).
Mr Patrick Kwakye, the Director of Resources, Estate and Environment of the BPA, said when he inaugurated the slab allocation committee for the two resettlement communities at the plant site at Bui.
The committee comprised representatives of the BPA, assembly members, traditional rulers, market women and fishmongers.
When the Ghana News Agency visited the area, the reservoir had created artificial markets at the two resettlement communities.
It is expected to educate the fishing communities on the rationale and purpose of the slabs and also provide guidance to potential beneficiaries on the procedure to apply for the slabs.
Mr Kwakye said because of the market created by the reservoir, migrant fishermen who had been attracted from other parts of the country had started creating settlements within the reservoir area and also engaging in illegal fishing methods.
These activities, he said, threatened the Dam and its associated infrastructure, explaining the BPA was collaborating with a team of naval personnel deployed by the National Security Council to control the detrimental activities of the fishermen.
Mr Kwakye asked the committee to work assiduously as a team to help achieve a sustainable resource use and development at those landing sites.
Mr Wumbilla Salifu, the External and Community Relations Manager of the BPA, warned the fisher folks to avoid using unauthorised methods of fishing adding that perpetrators of such acts would not be spared.
Source: GNA