A, which was constructed by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) to address post-harvest fish losses, for the people of Nyanyano, a coastal fishing community, near Kasoa in the Central Region, has been.
Investigations by the Ghanaian Times has discovered.
The facility was commissioned in 2015 by the former Minister of the MoFAD, Ms Sherry Ayittey and former District Chief Executive for Gomoa East, Mr Moses Jehu-Appiah.
The Gomoa East District Assembly took custody of the facility on behalf of the chiefs and people as beneficiaries.
A visit to by the Ghanaian Times to the Nyanyano last Thursday, revealed that the facility which is equipped with a cold room, a blast freezer, an ice-maker, a standby generator, an electrical lifter and a cold van, has been left at the mercy of the weather, invaded by rodents and reptiles.
The compound was over grown with weeds.
The rationale for the construction of the cold storage facility, the Ghanaian Times gathered, was that fish losses recorded, especially during bumper harvests were high.
This was because fishermen were not sending ice to sea, hence the facility was to help improve their income during event bumper harvests.
The fishermen would also not be compelled to sell their catch at unattractive prices due to lack of storage facilities.
The facilities would serve as a source of supply of fish for fish mongers in the area as well.
Records available to the Ghanaian Times has it that the Nyanyano fish storage facility was part of seven million euros secured from the Government of Spain for the construction of a total of six storage facilities along fishing coastal communities in the Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions.
The Chief of Nyanyano, Nana Obeng Wiabo V, when contacted, expressed disappointment that the huge investment was not being utilised but abandoned by the fisheries authorities.
He therefore appealed to the sector ministry to revamp the facility and make it operational for an efficient fishing industry at Nyanyano and the Gomoa East District in general.
The Executive Director of the Fisheries Commission at the MoFAD, Mr Arthur Dadzie, in an interview corroborated the Ghanaian Times story and said the sector ministry was exploring various options including a Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement to have the facility operational.
He said that from the onset some five companies namely, singer Ventures, OA Kranoc Limited, Sekumba Company Limited, Prampram Coldstore Company Limited, and Gabdor Limited, were contracted under a PPP agreement to manage the facilities but the companies according to him, have not been able to meet the conditions in the agreement, including the payment of the monthly fee to the ministry.
Mr Dadzie mentioned the high cost of electricity tariff, which all the managers complained about, also led to the non-functioning of the facilities.
Their services was therefore terminated hence leading to the equipment and the facilities to deteriorate.
He disclosed that the next step was for the ministry to take over the facilities and to collaborate with the respective assemblies to ensure that they are protected and put to use.
FROM DANIEL AMOO, NYANYANO
