CEMLAWS organises workshop on transparency and accountability

A day’s workshop aimed at disseminating the findings on transparency and accountability in Ghana’s fisheries sector project has been held in Accra.

Organised by the Centre for Maritime Law and Security (CEMLAWS) Africa yesterday, the transparency and accountability in Ghana’s fisheries sector project was funded through the Bloomberg Philanthropies Vibrant Oceans project titled: Enhancing Transparency in the Fisheries Sector of Ghana.

The project which was carried out in four African countries including Ghana sought to evaluate transparency and accountability gaps within the fisheries sector, with a focus on governance and policy framework.

According to the Programmes Manager at (CEMLAWS) Africa, Dr Rebecca K. Essamuah, although there had been transparency by the government in the fisheries sector, more could be done to improve it.

She explained that transparency mechanisms in the fisheries sector could be improved by making information more available, and including stakeholders in decision-making for their voice to be heard.

Dr Essamuah further underscored the need to have a concerted effort that was geared towards achieving a sustainable fisheries sector as efforts to meet transparency goals were scattered.

In addition, she noted that the project had three main objectives which were to assess the transparency and accountability, to assess the functional information-sharing mechanisms and to find out how transparency was being held across the regions in terms of governance and enforcement in the fisheries sector.

The Board Chairman of the Fisheries Commission (FC), Professor Francis Nunoo noted that his outfit was collecting data on fisheries to help improve the inland fisheries sector.

This, he said, was important due to limited data in the inland fisheries sector compared to the marine fisheries sector.

.

Prof Nunoo further bemoaned how information or data obtained from the FC by stakeholders in the fisheries sector and individuals were often misinterpreted and therefore recommended a formal engagement with stakeholders in the fisheries sector to better explain the data obtained to them as the sector was the least understood in West Africa.

He asserted that although the government had supported the FC over the past years, the FC still faced challenges in terms of data collection which affected its operations.

The Board Chairman therefore urged the government to assist the FC by providing it with adequate resources to help in data collection to help the FC manage the fisheries sector effectively.

The Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD), in a keynote address read on her behalf by a representative from the MoFAD noted that good governance, transparency, and accountability were essential for the sustainable management of natural resources in Ghana, including fisheries and aquaculture.

The Minister emphasised government’s commitment to improve transparency and accountability in the fisheries sector by collaborating with stakeholders in the implementation of fisheries policies, plans and management measures.