The Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) has been removing tree stumps from inland waterways on the Volta Lake.

So far, the authority has removed 21,000 of these tree stumps from various routes mostly on the Volta Lake, Director General, Thomas Kofi Alonsi has disclosed.

He said since the removal of the stumps on these waterways, transport services have greatly improved, yielding huge economic and social dividends to the people who live around these communities.

He was speaking at a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday, August 11, 2021.

He said: “apart from the human element, the main causes of accident on the Volta Lake include the absence of safe navigational channels. The Authority has, therefore, embarked on the removal of submerged tree stumps that constitutes hazards to navigation.

“The main reason for removing these tree stumps is to create navigational channels in order to enhance the safety of navigation.

“The Authority has therefore selected some routes along the Volta Lake and undertaken this exercise of ensuring that we remove these tree stumps which in all, 21,000 from various routes on the Volta Lake have been removed,” he added.

This he said includes the removal of 2,200 tree stumps on 2.5 kilometres of waterways from Dambai to Dodoikope, 3,550 tree stumps on 8 kilometres of waterways from Yeji to Makango, 4,800 tree stumps on 11 kilometres of waterways from Yeji to Awujakope and 10,490 tree stumps on 30 kilometres of waterways from Tumpunjah to Kodorkope to Dambai TO Njare all along the Volta Lake.

He said previously, ferries and boats could not operate in these waterways after 5 pm due to poor visibility, often leaving commuters stranded and desperate but that has now changed noting that ferries and boats are now able to navigate safely on the lake up to 8 pm.