Fishmongers plying their trade at the Kpong Fishing Harbour in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal of the Eastern Region have passionately appealed for various social amenities to help improve their work.

The harbour, which serves as a major fish trading centre for consumers from far and near, needs good roads, potable water, and access to sanitation facilities. The absence of these amenities is a challenge to both traders and residents.

The traders appealed for an engagement with the Youth and Women Empowerment (YOWE), a youth and women-centred NGO which is implementing the 18-month-long phase two of its Action for Voice, Influence and Inclusive Development (AVID -2) Project.

The project aims to train various groups to empower them with the requisite knowledge and skills to enhance their businesses.

Being implemented with sponsorship from the STAR-Ghana Foundation, the first phase of the project implemented between 2023 and 2024 within the Lower Manya Krobo and Upper Manya Krobo Districts in the Eastern Region offered the implementers a unique platform to empower various groups, including women farmer-based groups, persons with disabilities (PWD) and market women with the requisite skills to enhance their trade to reap maximum benefits.

Monday’s engagement with the over 50 fishmongers is part of a strategic plan designed to facilitate a platform for the fishmongers to engage the appropriate authorities.

It will also ensure that decisive action is taken to ensure that the local Assembly takes proactive steps towards addressing the myriad of challenges confronting the fishmongers at the harbour.

The fishmongers identified several challenges bedevilling their activities at the harbour, including poor road network, the lack of sanitation facilities, pollution of the river banks, lack of proper fish storage facilities and the lack of potable water as major difficulties confronting their activities at the beach.

The challenges, if addressed, are expected to enable the traders to reap improved sales benefits and support themselves, their dependents, and the larger society.

Explaining the essence of the engagement, Executive Director for the Youth and Women Empowerment (YOWE) Emmanuel Nuetey Siakwa noted that the NGO aims to formalize, register, and train members of the group.

“What YOWE is trying to do with this group is to formalize their activities first. We’ll register them with the Assembly, and we’ll also take them through a series of business skills development training,” said Siakwa.

He said that aside from identifying several advocacy issues, the implementers hope to see the traders enjoy improved sales as well as the conditions under which they operate.

He noted: “At the end of the day, we want to see a situation where their businesses are improved in terms of income and the environment in which they do their businesses is well managed.

The Executive Director expressed satisfaction with the cooperation of the group and urged them to continue to dedicate themselves to the cause of the project to ensure its success.

Madam Mabel Kokroko, the chairperson of the Kpong Fishmongers Association, decrying the poor conditions bedevilling their operations at the harbour, was hopeful that addressing the challenges would go a long way to enhance their businesses.

She noted: “Putting the road in good shape will help us get more customers, and providing sanitation facilities will also be of great help.”

An advocacy action plan towards tackling the situation is expected to be outlined as part of the strategies, and all identified issues will be incorporated into the plan.