The Minority in Parliament has voiced strong reservations regarding Ghana's ratification of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.
The agreement, which aims to eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, has drawn scrutiny for its potential impact on small-scale fishing communities across the country.
In a report adopted by Parliament on Friday, May 30, the Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs acknowledged that the agreement is vital for promoting sustainable fishing practices globally.
The caucus, however, warned that its implementation without adequate safeguards could jeopardise the livelihoods of artisanal and community-level fishermen who rely heavily on government subsidies for essentials such as premix fuel, outboard motors, and fishing gear. "If you are bringing a ratification for us to work on and therefore we are going to take say fuel subsidy, clearly we know that our fisher-folks are goung to suffer and therefore I believe that if we have done this report without consulting our fisher-folks, it is very important that as we bring a bill, it domesticates this provision," Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah, the MP for Takoradi said. "What they are doing today is not going to benefit the fishing community.
