Accra, Nov. 3, GNA - Togbe Dagadu VIII, Paramount Chief of the Akpini Traditional Area, has sent a message of condolence to the chiefs and people of Wusuta on the boat disaster on the Volta Lake that claimed some 17 lives and called for education of the communities on safety measures. The message said the chiefs and people of the Akpini Traditional Area learned of the boat disaster "with shock and dismay" and prayed to God to heal the wounds inflicted by the disaster. Togbe Dagadu said the authorities should use this sad moment to educate the people about safety measures required in the use of boats as means of transport on the Volta Lake.

Meanwhile, the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) is liaising with the Ministry of Transport, the police and boat owners' associations to ensure compliance with river transport safety regulations in the region. The council is envisaging a licensing system that would preclude certain boat types from carrying passengers. Mr Joseph Amenorwode, the Volta Regional Minister, said this last week when he led a representative group of the Volta Regional Security Council to visit survivors of the October 19 boat disaster on the Volta Lake, between Wusuta-Kpeme in the Kpando District and Torganu in the Afram-Plains. He said the police and navy would be involved to clamp down on recalcitrant boat owners who would go against directives. Seventeen people, mainly pupils of the Torganu District Assembly Primary School who were returning from a colleague's burial, died when their boats capsized.