3FM Mobile Sunrise Morning Show: Truck drivers appeal for better conditions

Members of the Ghana Haulage Truck Drivers Association. (G.H.T.D.A) joined the 3FM Mobile Sunrise Morning Show to voice out the challenges confronting their operations and appealed to the government and stakeholders for urgent solutions.

The truck drivers lamented the failure of the Ghana Ports and the Harbour Authority (GHAPOHA) to provide a designated parking space for the several trucks that convey goods to and from the harbour though their services are critical to the smooth operations of GHAPOHA.

“We don’t have a parking place for our trucks, so we are just perching by the roadsides which is not safe,” they lamented.

One of the representatives of the drivers, Mr. Korbo Sosa complained that, when they go to other terminals like the Tema Bonded Terminal (TBT) a privately managed inland container depot at the Port of Tema, specialized in the handling of International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDGs) they don’t pay any additional tolls to GHAPOHA, but they are forced to pay toll to GHAPOHA when they drive to the Meridian Port Services (MPS) Terminal which is also private.

“Some of the issues of concern to our work here at Tema Harbor is that MPS is not for GHAPOHA yet when we are driving there, GHAPOHA uses its powers to force us to pay additional tolls to them, but it is not like that with other terminals like the TBT where we discharge chemicals,” he bemoaned.

Another driver, Stephen Dankwa who is also a member of the Truck Drivers Association also complained about the poor roads, poor road network, absence of road markings and the presence of illegal speed ramps that are causing accidents and inconveniences for the drivers.

“Highways are supposed to be dual carriage and must not have speed ramps but ours are not like that. We have so many speed ramps and potholes on them. These make our travel time prolonged. The shoulders of the roads are not good and there is poor visibility because of poor street lighting” Celebrity truck driver DJ Korbo International added.

They also suggested that the government can fix cameras to check over speeding and even generate revenue by slapping fines on offenders instead of fixing speed ramps on highways.

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