Boat disasters on the Volta Lake over the past few years have become one too many and have rightly provoked concern among Ghanaians.
In February 2018, the Daily Graphic reported that a pregnant woman and five others drowned when the boat they were travelling on from Foekope, along with seven other passengers, capsized on the Volta Lake near Bruben in the Afram Plains North District in the Eastern Region.
The five others who lost their lives were three women and two girls.
In May 2020, there was another disaster when a boat believed to be carrying more than 16 persons capsized on the Volta Lake in the Afram Plains, resulting in the drowning of seven persons, with only three survivors and the others unaccounted for because there was no recording done before the boat set off on that ill-fated trip.
Then, in March 2021, we reported again that six persons, made up of four females and two males, drowned when the canoe on which they were travelling on the Volta Lake capsized at Adzamansu, a village in the Biakoye District in the Oti Region, with four others managing to swim to safety.
There have been other reports of drowning in the Volta Lake, such as one involving eight pupils who tragically lost their lives on their way to school when their boat capsized in 2023.
The Daily Graphic reported yet another tragedy, as confirmed by the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), of a fatal boat disaster that occurred on the Volta Lake near Kete Krachi on Saturday, October 11, 2025, resulting in the loss of 15 lives, including 11 children.
Although there is no aggregated number of lives lost on the Volta Lake over the last five years as people traversed the vast expanse of water to various destinations, the precious lives cut short could run into 100 or more, including unreported cases.
This should prompt all well-meaning Ghanaians to pay attention and offer solutions to this recurring tragedy that affects us annually.
We cannot bar communities living along the banks of the Volta Lake from crossing it, as there is no other way for them to reach neighbouring communities.
Although the government has tried to ease transportation on the lake by providing some pontoons for travel, indications are that they are woefully inadequate, meaning people will always find alternative means of travel, such as using boats that are not even sea-or river-worthy.
Coupled with that, the use of life jackets has, for years, become the exception rather than the norm, contributing largely to drowning in lakes and rivers.
This is why the Daily Graphic finds it heartwarming that the directive on wearing life jackets will become obligatory without compromise as from next year, to ensure safety on the Volta Lake.
Although coming late in the day, we laud the GMA's move to procure life jackets for use on vessels plying between the Kpando-Torkor Harbour and the Afram Plains.
The GMA’s reason for its decision is that there are about 150 vessels on the lake at Kpando Torkor, including fishing canoes, but some of the boats have only two or three life jackets on board.
But how about the other areas not mentioned and who will ensure that passengers put on their jackets before the boats set sail?
Just as commuters on our roads are hesitant to wear seat belts when travelling, claiming they are uncomfortable even when provided, some boat passengers will refuse to wear life jackets because they see them as restrictive rather than life-saving.
We believe that the tragedies on our roads, which have claimed more lives than any disease, and the frequent boat disasters on our waters must inform strict legislation on the use of protective gear provided on any mode of transport so that commuters are compelled to use them.
Otherwise, we will continue to lose our productive and promising population to unnecessary, untimely deaths.
Life jacket use on water must be mandatory. The use of seat belts in vehicles on the roads must be enforced, just as it is in air travel.
No bus, car or truck without seat belts should be allowed on the road and no one should ride a bicycle, motorbike or tricycle without a helmet.
