Oti Regional Minister John Kwadwo Gyapong has urged residents to make use of life jackets, following a boat accident on the Volta Lake that resulted in 16 fatalities, including 11 children.
The accident occurred on Saturday, October 11, 2025, near Kete Krachi where a boat traveling from Okuma to Bovime capsized.
According to the Minister, the residents are constantly being provided life jackets but they are often never used.
Speaking to TV3 on October 13, Mr. Gyapong noted that none of the persons on board the capsized boat had a life jacket.
“That is the story and that is my concern,” he said.
“Anytime there’s an education, either by NADMO, by our development partners, by NGO’s, by the district assemblies, MP’s, a lot of life jackets are provided to these people who stay on the islands on the Volta lake.”
He mentioned that one of such educational efforts had even recently taken place.
“Students from a US university were in Oti, they saw a small girl crossing the lake without life jacket. It was advertised and we did a lot of education,” he recounted.
The Minister added that Members of Parliament, the Assemblies, and an NGO all bought life jackets in this scenario.
“NADMO very recently has given a lot of life jackets to people who stay on the islands on the lake,” he stated.
Gyapong emphasized that despite these provisions, the life jackets are consistently ignored, leading to suchpreventable tragedies.
He clarified that these communities are not just located near the lake but on islands on the lake itself.
“Because of the intervention of the Akosombo dam there have been a lot of islands that have been created by the Volta lake,” he stated.
He further went on to propose some mandatory measures to help address this issue and prevent accidents like this in future.
“We want to educate people to use the life jackets. And at least, anybody who wants to stay on the islands, should know how to swim,” he suggested.
He also revealed that the boat was dangerously overcrowded, carrying way more than its limit.
“Normally there shouldn’t be more than 10 on the boat, but it carried 24 people,” he stressed.
