Question

Why are rivers in Ghana not considered suitable for water transportation ​

Answer 1

Answer:

Water bodies have been an amazing mode of transport for carrying people and/or goods within and across regional, national and continental borders. Hitherto, a lot of countries still depend on inland water transport for the transportation of bulk and general cargo across lakes/rivers over long distances. Similarly, Ghana’s Inland Water Transport (IWT) system managed by Volta Lake transport Company (VLTC) has been in operation for decades. Regardless of the long years of operational activities, the IWT system in Ghana is faced with numerous constraints grouped under administrative, market, logistics and technical constraints which impede smooth operations and growth of the industry. By means of interviews and questionnaires, open ended verbal questions were used to ascertain respondents’ opinions on these major challenges. In this regard, some recommendations such as institutionalization and proper regulation of IWT, dredging or periodic maintenance of navigational channels, improvement of logistics and infrastructural development and also promotion of integrated transport planning, to boost IWT system in Ghana and other countries with similar constrains were presented. As encouragement approach, some benefits of improved IWT as enjoyed by many countries with competitive IWT were also discussed in comparison with Ghana and other countries where IWT is not very competitive.