Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority, Dr. Kamal-Deen Ali has bemoaned the lack of regulation to control construction of boats to be used on inland waters in Ghana.
Speaking in an interview on TV3’s Hot Issues, Sunday, November 2, 2025, Dr. Ali noted that the Ghana Maritime Authority is only able to regulate boats after they have been constructed and are in use on the inland waters.
He explained that such phenomenon is not the best and must change. He believes efforts are ongoing to regulate boat construction in Ghana.
“But let’s also be realistic, we do not have as we speak a regime in Ghana that says that if somebody is constructing a boat somewhere in Sampa, he must inform the Ghana Maritime Authority before he constructs the boat in Sampa.
“It is after the person starts using it, then we will come to know that the person is using it and we will then make sure that we number the boat and we put is as part of our regulations.
“Ideally, it should change. We are not there yet,” he stated.
He further explained that the Ghana Maritime Authority is working with the Transport Ministry to lay before Parliament an Act for inland water regulatory to ensure the licensing for canoes that ply in Ghana’s inland waters.
“We have what we call the inland water regulatory. Previously, this was small and we have identified that we need to expand it so we are having an expanded regime coming in future where this will be laid before Parliament through the transport minister and then this will go through Parliamentary approval and be enacted into law,” he added.
