THERE has been an upsurge in illegal trading activities within the Ministries area in Accra, where government’s day-to-day transactions are carried out.
The illegal business activities include the sale of cooked food on the streets within the area, tie and dye materials, coconuts, herbal products and fried yams, among others.
Other hawkers also could be seen meandering their way through the various Ministries to sell their items, which include belts, shoes, used clothing, assorted fruits, watches and groundnuts.
A visit to the area showed some workers and visitors patronising cooked food such as rice, kenkey, tea and confectioneries.
While some were seen eating at the food joints, which are on the streets within the Ministries, others were seen carrying away their food items in black plastic bags to their various offices.
Another feature noticed at the area was how the illegal traders engaged in arguments over issues of politics and sports.
Auntie Ama, one of the canteen operators in the area, said although the illegal trading activities were a nuisance, nobody seemed to bring those behind them to order.
“Now anybody can come and sell here and nobody would say anything and the indiscriminate activities do not speak well of the area,” she said.
“Master, the cost of the food at the canteens in the area is high and we can’t afford it. For instance, at our canteen, if you don’t have GH¢2 or GH¢2.50 you can’t eat but at the roadside, with GH¢ 1, you can get food to buy.
“Even our big men send us to buy from these traders and hawkers,” a worker at one of the Ministries, who wants to remain anonymous, told the Daily Graphic, adding that the issue was a major one that needed to be addressed well.
He said although the activities of the hawkers and traders were a bother, they were rendering invaluable services, and stressed the need for their activities to be streamlined so that their activities did not become a nuisance.
Reacting to the situation, the Director of Finance and Administration of the Office of Head of Civil Service, Mr Ohene Okai, said “the indiscriminate sale of various items anywhere in the Ministries is a big challenge to us”.
He recalled the action taken by a former Minister of Public Sector Reforms, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, to clear the area of such illegal activities.
“It is unfortunate that these traders have found their way back,” adding that he was going to call a meeting of directors next week Tuesday, January 26, 2010, to discuss the matter and find a solution to it.
Mr Okai said such a practice should not be allowed to go on, and that eventually a security firm would be contracted to take charge of the Ministries to enforce actions that would be taken against the illegal traders.
“We have given ourselves up to March 31, 2010 to restore the place to its true status,” he said.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Allow govt to complete investigations ...into allocation of timber rights
Page 38
04-02-10
THE Concerned Timber Operators Association has called on timber firms under investigations over the acquisition of timber rights to harvest timber four years ago to allow the Government more time to conclude its work instead of politicising the matter.
It said its own investigations had shown that some firms did not get the permit to acquire forest reserves through competitive bidding as demanded by law.
The Spokesperson of the Association, Mr Bright Nkeyasen, who made the call in Accra, said the process of awarding plantation timber rights from the 1980s to 2003 was by application to the Forestry Department.
"In 2003, there was an Act of Parliament per Legislative Instrument (LI 1721) to regulate the award of plantation timber rights. Under this law, every award of timber rights was supposed to pass through competitive bidding.
He said with the law, undue favours and other corrupt practices were eliminated, alleging that some former sector Ministers of State as well as a former Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission deliberately disregarded the law".
Mr Nkeyasen, therefore, called on the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to halt and withdraw all the illegal permits issued out.
"By Forestry Commission rules, contractors were not to harvest trees below the diameter of 20 centimetres at breath height.
These companies, backed by people in higher authority, fragrantly disregarded those rules and destroyed the plantations by harvesting almost every tree that came their way," he said.
He said as soon as the current minister took office, he should have withdrawn all those illegal permits.
Mr Nkeyasen charged all operators in the industry to hold their peace and allow the minister and the committee set up to conclude the investigations into the issuance of permits to complete their work.
He urged all plantation timber members to support Mr Owusu Amankwah of Jowak company so that his stay on the Board of the Forestry Commission would help address the numerous problems facing the sector.
He also called on the Government to involve the plantation timber operators in the national afforestation project launched recently by the President, Prof J.E.A. Mills.
04-02-10
THE Concerned Timber Operators Association has called on timber firms under investigations over the acquisition of timber rights to harvest timber four years ago to allow the Government more time to conclude its work instead of politicising the matter.
It said its own investigations had shown that some firms did not get the permit to acquire forest reserves through competitive bidding as demanded by law.
The Spokesperson of the Association, Mr Bright Nkeyasen, who made the call in Accra, said the process of awarding plantation timber rights from the 1980s to 2003 was by application to the Forestry Department.
"In 2003, there was an Act of Parliament per Legislative Instrument (LI 1721) to regulate the award of plantation timber rights. Under this law, every award of timber rights was supposed to pass through competitive bidding.
He said with the law, undue favours and other corrupt practices were eliminated, alleging that some former sector Ministers of State as well as a former Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission deliberately disregarded the law".
Mr Nkeyasen, therefore, called on the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to halt and withdraw all the illegal permits issued out.
"By Forestry Commission rules, contractors were not to harvest trees below the diameter of 20 centimetres at breath height.
These companies, backed by people in higher authority, fragrantly disregarded those rules and destroyed the plantations by harvesting almost every tree that came their way," he said.
He said as soon as the current minister took office, he should have withdrawn all those illegal permits.
Mr Nkeyasen charged all operators in the industry to hold their peace and allow the minister and the committee set up to conclude the investigations into the issuance of permits to complete their work.
He urged all plantation timber members to support Mr Owusu Amankwah of Jowak company so that his stay on the Board of the Forestry Commission would help address the numerous problems facing the sector.
He also called on the Government to involve the plantation timber operators in the national afforestation project launched recently by the President, Prof J.E.A. Mills.
Kasoa drivers can't increase fares -Alhaji Tetteh
04-02-10
Spread
COMMERCIAL drivers plying the Kasoa-Accra road have defied a directive from the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and significantly increased their fares following the upward adjustment in road and bridge tolls.
The drivers are now charging GH¢1, instead of 65Gp, from Kasoa to Accra and 70Gp from Kasoa to Kaneshie, instead of 55Gp.
There are corresponding increases in the fares charged from Kasoa to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and other parts of Accra.
The situation has generated conflict between drivers and passengers to and from Kasoa and outrage from the GPRTU.
Alhaji E.A. Tetteh, the National Vice-Chairman of the GPRTU, has asked the drivers to disengage from the act, since there had not been any announcement to that effect.
“Nobody should increase fares because we have not announced any new fares,” he emphasised, and indicated that the union’s national executives would meet over the matter, having heard the complaints of the public.
The meeting, he said, would also look at the new road and bridge tolls, after which the executives would meet Mr Joe Gidisu, the Minister of Roads.
When the new tolls came into effect on Monday, February 1, 2010, commercial drivers from Kasoa protested by burning tyres in the middle of the road at Kasoa and also stopped other drivers from picking passengers.
The about 45-minute action of the drivers left a large number of passengers going from Kasoa to Accra stranded. It took the timely intervention of the police to restore order.
Some passengers who spoke to the Daily Graphic said they did not understand why the drivers should show total disregard for the law and refuse to accept the old fares.
They said if the practice was not stopped, there would be total chaos, since it could result in fights between drivers and their mates on the one hand and passengers on the other.
On Tuesday, the government explained that it had been compelled to institute the new road tolls because the Road Fund had been over-committed and unable to fulfil its obligations.
It said the new tolls would, therefore, yield the needed revenue to enable the government to undertake sustainable maintenance of the road network in the country.
The Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr Alex Segbefia, said this at the inauguration of a 14-member Road Fund Management Board, which has Mr Joe Gidisu, the Minister of Roads and Highways, as Chairman, in Accra.
Spread
COMMERCIAL drivers plying the Kasoa-Accra road have defied a directive from the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and significantly increased their fares following the upward adjustment in road and bridge tolls.
The drivers are now charging GH¢1, instead of 65Gp, from Kasoa to Accra and 70Gp from Kasoa to Kaneshie, instead of 55Gp.
There are corresponding increases in the fares charged from Kasoa to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and other parts of Accra.
The situation has generated conflict between drivers and passengers to and from Kasoa and outrage from the GPRTU.
Alhaji E.A. Tetteh, the National Vice-Chairman of the GPRTU, has asked the drivers to disengage from the act, since there had not been any announcement to that effect.
“Nobody should increase fares because we have not announced any new fares,” he emphasised, and indicated that the union’s national executives would meet over the matter, having heard the complaints of the public.
The meeting, he said, would also look at the new road and bridge tolls, after which the executives would meet Mr Joe Gidisu, the Minister of Roads.
When the new tolls came into effect on Monday, February 1, 2010, commercial drivers from Kasoa protested by burning tyres in the middle of the road at Kasoa and also stopped other drivers from picking passengers.
The about 45-minute action of the drivers left a large number of passengers going from Kasoa to Accra stranded. It took the timely intervention of the police to restore order.
Some passengers who spoke to the Daily Graphic said they did not understand why the drivers should show total disregard for the law and refuse to accept the old fares.
They said if the practice was not stopped, there would be total chaos, since it could result in fights between drivers and their mates on the one hand and passengers on the other.
On Tuesday, the government explained that it had been compelled to institute the new road tolls because the Road Fund had been over-committed and unable to fulfil its obligations.
It said the new tolls would, therefore, yield the needed revenue to enable the government to undertake sustainable maintenance of the road network in the country.
The Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr Alex Segbefia, said this at the inauguration of a 14-member Road Fund Management Board, which has Mr Joe Gidisu, the Minister of Roads and Highways, as Chairman, in Accra.
Education Service to meet WAEC -Over admission of 1st batch of 4-year SHS students to varsities
THE Ghana Education Service (GES) is to engage the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the public universities to work out an effective plan for the admission of the first batch of four-year senior high school (SHS) students to the universities next year.
The discussions will focus on the early release of the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results by WAEC and a delay in reopening the universities to enable the SHS candidates to get their results to apply for admission in 2011, after writing the WASSCE in May/June 2011.
The Director of the Basic Education Division of the GES, Mr Stephen Adu, who made this known to the Daily Graphic, said the move stemmed from the fact there would be no WASSCE this year for SHS candidates as a result of the four-year programme.
“There is the need for the discussions to see how we can get those who will complete in May/June next year to enter the universities in the same year to clear the backlog of students, instead of waiting to enter in 2012,” he said, adding that earlier discussions could not be concluded.
Mr Adu said with no students going out this year, the normal academic programme of SHSs would be allowed to run.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) government phased out the three-year SHS programme and introduced the four-year programme under the 2007 educational reform.
The first batch of the four-year SHS programme will write the WASSCE next year.
However, Cabinet has given approval for the revision of the four-year programme to three years, taking effect from September this year.
This means that only two batches (the 2007 and 2008 groups) of JHS graduates will go through the four-year SHS programme.
The Minister of Education, Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, last week told Parliament that Cabinet had accepted the proposed reversal of SHS education to three years and indicated that school enrolment for the three-year programme should commence in September this year.
He added that Cabinet had also approved the implementation plan for the reversal to three years.
The minister was responding to a question posed on the floor of the House by the MP for Asunafo North, Mr Robert Sarfo-Mensah, who had asked the minister about the outcome of the National Education Forum organised by the government to deliberate on the duration of the SHS system and the amount of money spent to organise the forum.
The minister dismissed suggestions that the forum had not provided any definite outcome on the duration, explaining that the outcome of the forum had been communicated to Cabinet for policy approval for the reversal of the duration of SHS education from four to three years.
The discussions will focus on the early release of the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results by WAEC and a delay in reopening the universities to enable the SHS candidates to get their results to apply for admission in 2011, after writing the WASSCE in May/June 2011.
The Director of the Basic Education Division of the GES, Mr Stephen Adu, who made this known to the Daily Graphic, said the move stemmed from the fact there would be no WASSCE this year for SHS candidates as a result of the four-year programme.
“There is the need for the discussions to see how we can get those who will complete in May/June next year to enter the universities in the same year to clear the backlog of students, instead of waiting to enter in 2012,” he said, adding that earlier discussions could not be concluded.
Mr Adu said with no students going out this year, the normal academic programme of SHSs would be allowed to run.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) government phased out the three-year SHS programme and introduced the four-year programme under the 2007 educational reform.
The first batch of the four-year SHS programme will write the WASSCE next year.
However, Cabinet has given approval for the revision of the four-year programme to three years, taking effect from September this year.
This means that only two batches (the 2007 and 2008 groups) of JHS graduates will go through the four-year SHS programme.
The Minister of Education, Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, last week told Parliament that Cabinet had accepted the proposed reversal of SHS education to three years and indicated that school enrolment for the three-year programme should commence in September this year.
He added that Cabinet had also approved the implementation plan for the reversal to three years.
The minister was responding to a question posed on the floor of the House by the MP for Asunafo North, Mr Robert Sarfo-Mensah, who had asked the minister about the outcome of the National Education Forum organised by the government to deliberate on the duration of the SHS system and the amount of money spent to organise the forum.
The minister dismissed suggestions that the forum had not provided any definite outcome on the duration, explaining that the outcome of the forum had been communicated to Cabinet for policy approval for the reversal of the duration of SHS education from four to three years.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Textile industry faces gloom future
Spread lead
02-02-10
PLAYERS in the local textile manufacturing business have warned that the closure of the Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL), which was announced yesterday, can signal the final demise of the industry in the country.
They said with the closure of ATL, a similar fate awaits Printex and Ghana Textiles Printing (GTP) Limited, the only survivors in the local industry, if immediate action is not taken by policy makers to salvage the situation.
Citing shortage of raw materials, the management of ATL yesterday announced the closure of the largest textile manufacturer in the country and asked the 1,600 workers to go home.
Notice to that effect had earlier been put up by the management of the company last Saturday, indicating that due to the shortage of cotton and black oil, production had ceased and the workers had to go home.
It said workers who had to provide essential services would be duly notified.
But the General Secretary of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), Mr Abraham Koomson, has described the directive as being “borne out of desperation” because for some time now ATL had run out of raw materials for the manufacture of textiles and was engaged in supplies, hence the closure.
He said the management of ATL had subsequently apologised and assured the workers that the closure was temporary, while workers would be better engaged in all such initiatives in the future.
Mr Koomson said the flooding of the country with cheap textiles and the high cost of production, making textiles produced in the country uncompetitive on the local market, resulting in unfair competition, could bring about the imminent closure of Printex and GTP if appropriate action was not taken now.
He said it would also mean the laying off of about 3,000 workers in the sector, of which 1,600 were currently at home.
Mr Koomson said the importation of cheap textiles and the high cost of production had been long-standing issues that needed the commitment of the political leadership to deal with now.
He said all seized textile materials smuggled into the country should either be burnt or destroyed through other processes to prevent them from finding their way onto the local market to deter people from continuing to engage in smuggling, since they had led to the collapse of textile companies and made the state lose billions of cedis.
“These cheap smuggled textiles with the designs of local textile companies must be destroyed when impounded because they are killing the local industry. This must not be allowed to go on; after all, countries such as Cote d’Ivoire and Tanzania have adopted similar measures to protect their local industries,” Mr Koomson said in an interview with the Daily Graphic.
He said, for instance, that from a total workforce of 25,000, the industry now had 3,000 workers and attributed the problem to the influx of cheap textiles onto the local market.
In addition, he said Ghana lost heavily (¢300 billion) in 2002-2003 as a result of the smuggling of textiles into the country.
He said in March last year Tanzania destroyed counterfeit and smuggled goods worth more than $224,000, while the Sharjah municipality in the United Arab Emirates destroyed 30,000 counterfeit auto parts last year following raids on warehouses, with more than 28,000 counterfeit goods, made up of CDs, among others, being destroyed in Australia.
Mr Koomson said seized materials should not be sold or auctioned in any way on the Ghanaian market, noting that once that was done, it would legitimise the illegal trade.
Meanwhile, the Secretary of the local union at ATL, Mr Gustav Darkoh, when contacted, said management had met with executives of the union and assured them that production would resume as soon as the consignment of raw materials were received.
He said workers were hopeful that they would be recalled soon.
Meanwhile, most of them did not report for work on Monday because of the notice.
02-02-10
PLAYERS in the local textile manufacturing business have warned that the closure of the Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL), which was announced yesterday, can signal the final demise of the industry in the country.
They said with the closure of ATL, a similar fate awaits Printex and Ghana Textiles Printing (GTP) Limited, the only survivors in the local industry, if immediate action is not taken by policy makers to salvage the situation.
Citing shortage of raw materials, the management of ATL yesterday announced the closure of the largest textile manufacturer in the country and asked the 1,600 workers to go home.
Notice to that effect had earlier been put up by the management of the company last Saturday, indicating that due to the shortage of cotton and black oil, production had ceased and the workers had to go home.
It said workers who had to provide essential services would be duly notified.
But the General Secretary of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), Mr Abraham Koomson, has described the directive as being “borne out of desperation” because for some time now ATL had run out of raw materials for the manufacture of textiles and was engaged in supplies, hence the closure.
He said the management of ATL had subsequently apologised and assured the workers that the closure was temporary, while workers would be better engaged in all such initiatives in the future.
Mr Koomson said the flooding of the country with cheap textiles and the high cost of production, making textiles produced in the country uncompetitive on the local market, resulting in unfair competition, could bring about the imminent closure of Printex and GTP if appropriate action was not taken now.
He said it would also mean the laying off of about 3,000 workers in the sector, of which 1,600 were currently at home.
Mr Koomson said the importation of cheap textiles and the high cost of production had been long-standing issues that needed the commitment of the political leadership to deal with now.
He said all seized textile materials smuggled into the country should either be burnt or destroyed through other processes to prevent them from finding their way onto the local market to deter people from continuing to engage in smuggling, since they had led to the collapse of textile companies and made the state lose billions of cedis.
“These cheap smuggled textiles with the designs of local textile companies must be destroyed when impounded because they are killing the local industry. This must not be allowed to go on; after all, countries such as Cote d’Ivoire and Tanzania have adopted similar measures to protect their local industries,” Mr Koomson said in an interview with the Daily Graphic.
He said, for instance, that from a total workforce of 25,000, the industry now had 3,000 workers and attributed the problem to the influx of cheap textiles onto the local market.
In addition, he said Ghana lost heavily (¢300 billion) in 2002-2003 as a result of the smuggling of textiles into the country.
He said in March last year Tanzania destroyed counterfeit and smuggled goods worth more than $224,000, while the Sharjah municipality in the United Arab Emirates destroyed 30,000 counterfeit auto parts last year following raids on warehouses, with more than 28,000 counterfeit goods, made up of CDs, among others, being destroyed in Australia.
Mr Koomson said seized materials should not be sold or auctioned in any way on the Ghanaian market, noting that once that was done, it would legitimise the illegal trade.
Meanwhile, the Secretary of the local union at ATL, Mr Gustav Darkoh, when contacted, said management had met with executives of the union and assured them that production would resume as soon as the consignment of raw materials were received.
He said workers were hopeful that they would be recalled soon.
Meanwhile, most of them did not report for work on Monday because of the notice.
Road tolls stand-off
Page 1 lead
02-02-10
There were initial protests by some drivers, particularly commercial drivers, when the new road and bridge tolls went into force yesterday.
At Kasoa in the Central Region, on the Accra-Tema Motorway and at Tabre and Aboaso in the Ashanti Region, the new tolls attracted protests from drivers who complained of the high percentage increase in the tolls. Indeed, some of them who spoke to the Daily Graphic threatened to increase lorry fares “to make up for the increase in the tolls imposed on us”.
On the Kasoa-Accra route, some drivers, especially commercial (trotro) drivers, displayed their displeasure by burning tyres in the middle of the road at Kasoa and also stopped other drivers from picking passengers.
The about 45-minute action of the drivers left a large number of passengers coming from Kasoa to Accra stranded. The passengers had no choice but to walk, some as far as beyond the toll booths to catch empty vehicles that had made U-turns back to Accra.
It took the timely intervention of the police to restore order.
The Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Union (MTTU), ACP Daniel Avorga, had to personally move to the area with his men to talk to the protesters to call off their action.
According to the drivers, the increase in the toll for trotros from 8Gp to GH¢1 was too high, as it was going to affect their daily sales.
Two of such drivers, Messrs Kofi Mensah and Abdul Karim, said they plied the Kasoa-Accra road about six times a day, noting that they normally returned to Accra with empty vehicles and wondered how they could meet their daily sales with the new toll.
They, together with other drivers, suggested that the payment of the toll be made only once, instead of each time a driver used the road.
At the time the Daily Graphic got to the toll booth about 8.30 a.m., there was a long queue of vehicles coming from the Kasoa end.
In an interview, the toll collectors noted that some of the drivers gave them big denominations to pay the tolls which resulted in delays because they (the toll collectors) spent longer time getting the drivers change.
For his part, the Supervisor of the toll collectors, Mr Thomas Hammond, said apart from the lack of change, drivers took some time to pay when they got to the toll booths, complaining of the new tolls.
He said some of the drivers complained that they were unaware of the new tolls and spent time complaining before paying the new tolls.
Mr Hammond said having been aware of the take-off of the new tolls, the collectors who were off duty were brought in to assist their colleagues who were on duty, adding that that was to quicken the process of issuing the toll receipts.
He expressed the hope that the situation was going to improve as the days went by, promising that he had made orders for smaller denominations for the issuance of change to drivers who brought bigger denominations.
For his part, Commander Avorga suggested to Mr Hammond to dispatch more toll collectors in the queue so that when the drivers got to the toll booths, they would only issue their receipts and move on.
He said more policemen were going to be sent to the area to ensure order, saying that the police would be there till order was restored.
At the Tabre and Aboaso toll booths, there was drama when motorists engaged in heated arguments with toll collectors, complaining that the increase was too high.
According to the drivers, the authorities did not take the present socio-economic situation in the country, especially current lorry fares, into consideration before coming out with the increase in the tolls.
Some of the drivers who spoke to the Daily Graphic threatened to increase lorry fares to make up for the increase in the tolls.
While the drivers delayed in paying to collect their tickets at the toll booths, many of them heaped insults on the collectors before driving away.
At the Tabre toll booth, vehicular traffic had jammed for almost a kilometre from the Akropong Junction to the collection point at the time Daily Graphic reached there.
While some drivers readily paid their tolls at the booth, others complained that they had not heard of the increase and, therefore, waited for some minutes before agreeing to pay.
There was heavy traffic at the Aboaso–Mampong toll booth in the Ashanti Region around 10 a.m. when the Daily Graphic got there.
The presence of armed policemen at both the Tabre and the Aboaso toll booths, however, prevented the drivers from overreacting.
The new tolls, which took effect from yesterday, followed an approval by Parliament of new road and bridge tolls under the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, Act 793, which has been signed into law by the President.
According to an advertisement placed in the media, motorbikes which previously were exempted from the payment of tolls are to pay 10Gp; saloon cars which used to pay 5Gp are now to pay 50Gp, while pick-ups and light buses will pay GH¢1, from the 8Gp they used to pay.
The others are mummy wagons, GH¢1; heavy buses and light goods truck (two axles), GH¢1.50; medium goods truck (three axles), GH¢2; heavy goods truck (four axles), GH¢2; heavy goods truck (five or more axles) GH¢2.50; agricultural tractors, 50Gp, and agricultural tractors with trailer, 50Gp.
The Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Joe Gidisu, explained that the increases in road and bridge tolls were intended to mobilise more resources for the construction and maintenance of roads.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Gidisu said the cost of maintaining roads in the country had gone up astronomically, hence the need for the increment.
He, therefore, appealed to drivers to accept the new rates, since it was with good intentions that they were being introduced, adding that road tolls had remained the same for the past 11 years, although the cost of road maintenance over the period had gone up.
The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) last week urged the drivers to accept the new tolls.
02-02-10
There were initial protests by some drivers, particularly commercial drivers, when the new road and bridge tolls went into force yesterday.
At Kasoa in the Central Region, on the Accra-Tema Motorway and at Tabre and Aboaso in the Ashanti Region, the new tolls attracted protests from drivers who complained of the high percentage increase in the tolls. Indeed, some of them who spoke to the Daily Graphic threatened to increase lorry fares “to make up for the increase in the tolls imposed on us”.
On the Kasoa-Accra route, some drivers, especially commercial (trotro) drivers, displayed their displeasure by burning tyres in the middle of the road at Kasoa and also stopped other drivers from picking passengers.
The about 45-minute action of the drivers left a large number of passengers coming from Kasoa to Accra stranded. The passengers had no choice but to walk, some as far as beyond the toll booths to catch empty vehicles that had made U-turns back to Accra.
It took the timely intervention of the police to restore order.
The Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Union (MTTU), ACP Daniel Avorga, had to personally move to the area with his men to talk to the protesters to call off their action.
According to the drivers, the increase in the toll for trotros from 8Gp to GH¢1 was too high, as it was going to affect their daily sales.
Two of such drivers, Messrs Kofi Mensah and Abdul Karim, said they plied the Kasoa-Accra road about six times a day, noting that they normally returned to Accra with empty vehicles and wondered how they could meet their daily sales with the new toll.
They, together with other drivers, suggested that the payment of the toll be made only once, instead of each time a driver used the road.
At the time the Daily Graphic got to the toll booth about 8.30 a.m., there was a long queue of vehicles coming from the Kasoa end.
In an interview, the toll collectors noted that some of the drivers gave them big denominations to pay the tolls which resulted in delays because they (the toll collectors) spent longer time getting the drivers change.
For his part, the Supervisor of the toll collectors, Mr Thomas Hammond, said apart from the lack of change, drivers took some time to pay when they got to the toll booths, complaining of the new tolls.
He said some of the drivers complained that they were unaware of the new tolls and spent time complaining before paying the new tolls.
Mr Hammond said having been aware of the take-off of the new tolls, the collectors who were off duty were brought in to assist their colleagues who were on duty, adding that that was to quicken the process of issuing the toll receipts.
He expressed the hope that the situation was going to improve as the days went by, promising that he had made orders for smaller denominations for the issuance of change to drivers who brought bigger denominations.
For his part, Commander Avorga suggested to Mr Hammond to dispatch more toll collectors in the queue so that when the drivers got to the toll booths, they would only issue their receipts and move on.
He said more policemen were going to be sent to the area to ensure order, saying that the police would be there till order was restored.
At the Tabre and Aboaso toll booths, there was drama when motorists engaged in heated arguments with toll collectors, complaining that the increase was too high.
According to the drivers, the authorities did not take the present socio-economic situation in the country, especially current lorry fares, into consideration before coming out with the increase in the tolls.
Some of the drivers who spoke to the Daily Graphic threatened to increase lorry fares to make up for the increase in the tolls.
While the drivers delayed in paying to collect their tickets at the toll booths, many of them heaped insults on the collectors before driving away.
At the Tabre toll booth, vehicular traffic had jammed for almost a kilometre from the Akropong Junction to the collection point at the time Daily Graphic reached there.
While some drivers readily paid their tolls at the booth, others complained that they had not heard of the increase and, therefore, waited for some minutes before agreeing to pay.
There was heavy traffic at the Aboaso–Mampong toll booth in the Ashanti Region around 10 a.m. when the Daily Graphic got there.
The presence of armed policemen at both the Tabre and the Aboaso toll booths, however, prevented the drivers from overreacting.
The new tolls, which took effect from yesterday, followed an approval by Parliament of new road and bridge tolls under the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, Act 793, which has been signed into law by the President.
According to an advertisement placed in the media, motorbikes which previously were exempted from the payment of tolls are to pay 10Gp; saloon cars which used to pay 5Gp are now to pay 50Gp, while pick-ups and light buses will pay GH¢1, from the 8Gp they used to pay.
The others are mummy wagons, GH¢1; heavy buses and light goods truck (two axles), GH¢1.50; medium goods truck (three axles), GH¢2; heavy goods truck (four axles), GH¢2; heavy goods truck (five or more axles) GH¢2.50; agricultural tractors, 50Gp, and agricultural tractors with trailer, 50Gp.
The Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Joe Gidisu, explained that the increases in road and bridge tolls were intended to mobilise more resources for the construction and maintenance of roads.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Gidisu said the cost of maintaining roads in the country had gone up astronomically, hence the need for the increment.
He, therefore, appealed to drivers to accept the new rates, since it was with good intentions that they were being introduced, adding that road tolls had remained the same for the past 11 years, although the cost of road maintenance over the period had gone up.
The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) last week urged the drivers to accept the new tolls.
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