The Ranking Member on the Agriculture Committee of Parliament, Eric Opoku, has expressed disappointment over the government's failure to fulfil its promise of building a two-bedroom house for the Best Fish Farmer in 2021, years on.
Eric Opoku criticized the Ministry of Agriculture for demanding an additional amount of GH¢50,000 three years on, in order to complete the house.
Opoku, during the discussion of the Committee on Agric and Cocoa Affairs on the 2024 budget estimates of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, said;
"…Mr. Speaker, Farmers Day. This is a very important celebration that every Ghanaian must have heard. Unfortunately, during the celebration, the best fish farmer is not given the award. In 2021, the best fish farmer was to be given a two-bedroom house. The ceremony, attended by the President and all state apparatus, was widely publicized. However, as we speak, the house has not been completed, and the ministry is now asking for five hundred thousand cedis to be able to complete the building and hand it over to the best fish farmer. Mr. Speaker, this is something that must not be told anywhere. We don’t have to allow this to happen."
However, the ministry, as revealed in the report, has abandoned the decision to award the Best Fish Farmer a house due to financial constraints.
The Committee urged the Ministry of Finance to release the GH¢500,000.00 allocated for the completion of the two-bedroom house awarded to the 2021 Best Fish Farmer.
This move aims to enable the ministry to reconsider reinstating the housing award, intending to motivate more investors to venture into aquaculture.
The House has since approved a total sum of two hundred and ninety-eight million, seven hundred and seventy-two thousand, two hundred and fifty-three Ghana Cedis (GHC298,772,253) to implement the planned programs and activities of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development for the 2024 financial year.
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NAY/AE
Eric Opoku, Member of Parliament for Asunafo South Constituency, Eric Opoku