The Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Elizabeth Afoley Quaye, has revealed that the small-scale loans to be given to women engaged in the fishing business are ready.

She said this when she accompanied President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to present some 6,336 outboard motors and other fishing equipment to fisherfolk along the coast on Tuesday December 3.

“We will distribute the loans amongst members of the National Fish Processors Association for their use. This year, we have heard that you have caught a lot of fish and they just need the money to work on the fish. We are also bringing more Ahot? ovens, 3,000 of them,” Elizabeth Afoley said.

She revealed that, last year, “we brought 350 of them but this year, we got some more funding to build more of the ovens for you. We will also provide you with insulated containers, in collaboration with USAID. We distributed some in Tema. We are bringing more this year.”

Touching on the storage facilities, she indicated that a bumper harvest has been recorded this year, and “the catch this year is more than the cold stores can take”.

With Government owning 6 cold stores across the country, she admitted that those put in charge of the cold stores did not take good care of them.

“This year, the law has allowed us to give the cold stores to companies that can take better care of them, so we are in the process of changing ownership. We are working on restoring power to the cold store at Prampram so that it can be reopened for use,” she added.