Rodents damage electrical cables of ferries on Volta Lake
Rodents are said to have chewed electrical cables of the two ferries on the Volta Lake at the Senchi Ferry Terminal, causing extensive damage to the vessels.
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The situation has been attributed to the activities by some commuters and vendors who often leave food particles on the ferries christened, Akrade and Senchi.
Being natural scavengers, the rodents are attracted to the remnants, damaging the cables in the process.
This came to light when the Minister of Transport, Mr Fifi Kwetey, inspected the vessels at Senchi in the Asuogyaman District in the Eastern Region.
The vessels were being dismantled to be transferred to Dambai in the northern part of the Volta Region and Yeji in the Brong Ahafo Region to facilitate the movement of people and goods in those areas.
Mr Kwetey was accompanied by officials of the Ministry of Transport, the Volta Lake Transport Company and consultants from the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), as well as some media practitioners.
Vessels
The two vessels were commissioned on March 10, 2014, during the rehabilitation of the Adomi Bridge.
After 22 months of rehabilitation work, the Adomi Bridge was reopened to help the people of Asuogyaman and commuters from the middle belt and upper parts of the Volta Region to cross the Volta River.
Subsequently, a GH¢8.7 million contract was awarded to Seaweld Engineering Limited, a local company with expertise in marine operation on October 10, 2016, to dismantle the vessels since work on the Adomi Bridge had been completed.
Investigations
Briefing the minister on the progress of work, the Operations Manager of Seaweld Engineering Limited, Mr Alexander Margotey, said there was the need to educate commuters who used the ferries to desist from eating while on board.
He said after an initial inspection and survey, it was established that though the engines of the ferries could respond to ignition, one of them, the Senchi ferry, could not move.
Further investigations, Mr Margotey said, revealed that the main cables had been destroyed by rats.
“It is such that we cannot cut and join the cables. We will have to replace them entirely by acquiring new cables from outside Ghana. The cost would be covered by the variation provision under the contract,” he stated.
Mr Margotey was of the view that minimising eating on the ferries, which have 25 years lifespan, could help ensure its longevity.
He also suggested that the vessels be fumigated every three months.
Later, the manager showed Mr Kwetey and his entourage some of the elements in the superstructures of the two vessels which had been dismantled in six days instead of the projected 15 days.
He told the delegation that the dismantled substructures would be transported to the Volta Lake Transport Terminal in Akosombo where it would be reassembled and transferred to their final destinations in the Volta and Brong Ahafo regions.
Mr Margotey gave an assurance that the company was working hard to meet a two-month deadline and that the Senchi ferry would be ready by mid-November while the Akrade ferry would be handed over to the Volta Lake Transport Company a month later.
Satisfaction
For his part, Mr Kwetey expressed satisfaction over the level of work so far executed by the contractors.
He explained that the two ferries were acquired by the government to facilitate movement of commuters in the area.
The minister has therefore recommended that they should be added to the fleets of the Volta Lake Transport Company.
“I want to tell commuters in Yeji and Dambai that hope is on the way. The ferries will help move a lot of people and agricultural produce,” he assured.
Mr Kwetey said Akrade would begin operations from Yeji to Mankago while Senchi would also convey people and goods from Dambai to the Dambai overbank.
He appealed to private operators on the Volta Lake to follow safety rules in order to minimise accidents on the water bodies.
The Acting Managing Director of the Volta Lake Transport Company, Mr Kenneth Appiah-Opong, said the company, which had been in business for the past 47 years, would use its expertise to ensure the ferries were well maintained.