In his view, some individuals continued to take advantage of the loopholes in the sale of premix fuel meant for the fishermen and boat owners to indulge in illegal sale of the product.

Dr Archibald Letsa said this at a meeting with the stakeholders at Tongor Tsanakpe, in the South Dayi District, to address the concerns of Dzemeni Boat Owners who went are on strike over poor distribution of the premix fuel.

He said the practice was painting a bad image of the team which is in charge of monitoring the distribution of the product to the fishermen in the area.

The boat owners alleged that the premix fuel was sold in their absence, forcing them to buy from middlemen at exorbitant prices.

They claimed they had made reports to the District Chief Executive of South Dayi, Kodjo Mallet and the Member of Parliament of the area, Rockson Dafeamekpor, but the situation remained the same.

The Minister assured the leadership at the meeting that their concerns would be addressed.

He appealed to the executives of the boat owners to call off the strike and resume work as their action was affecting the economic life of the people in the area.

Nii Lartey Bannerman, National Coordinator of Premix Fuel, who was at the meeting, said the landing sites received the required allocation meant for them, called on the monitoring team to ensure sanity in the distribution.

He warned those who illegally sell the product to middle men to do galamsey operations and okada business, and to farmers who use machines to irrigate their farms to desist from that since they will soon be smoked out.

Mr Dafeamekpor, expressed his readiness to work with all the stakeholders in the fishing sector in the area to better the sale and distribution of the premix fuel.

He added his voice to the Minister’s appeal to boat owners to resume work while they work to expose the middlemen and the illegal fuel dealers who sell at cut-throat prices.

Mr Cephas Agbemenya, Chairman of Dzemeni Boat Owners, lamented over the frustration and the challenges they faced in getting the fuel, but said they would resume work since have been assured that their concerns would be addressed.

FROM KAFUI GATI, TONGOR TSANAKPE