Transport Minister appeals to haulage drivers not go on strike
Mrs. Dzifa Attivor, Minister of Transport on Wednesday interacted with members of the Ghana Haulage Transport Drivers Union and persuaded them to rescind their intention to embark on an industrial action.
She urged them to dialogue with the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) to find an amicable settlement to the misunderstanding emanating from the relocation of the union from its present Lorry Park to Kpong.
She said a strike action would not be in the best interest of the government and Ghanaians because any withdrawal of their services would affect the national economy.
Mrs. Attivor said members of the union play an important role in the socio-economic advancement of Ghana, admitting that, while the rail system was not working efficiently, government depended on them to transport goods and provide services for the people.
She said through the hard work of the union, Ghana’s ports had become a hub for the West Africa Sub-region, adding that, government was working hard to expand facilities at the ports to help reduce congestion and facilitate the free movement of goods and services.
Mr. Saliah Adams, General Secretary of the Union said GPHA, on whose land the union was operating had asked them to relocate to Kpong by the end of June this year.
He said GPHA had sold the land it allocated them to private developers and had rented a private property at Kpong for the union.
“After all these years of dedicated and selfless service to win Ghana the “gateway” status, our reward now is to vacate our park latest by June to a rented private property for a period of ten years with a parking capacity for only 750 trucks”, he said.
Mr. Adams said GPHA over the years promised to provide the union with a “Truck Village” with rest rooms and other requirements to make their work easier but the promise had disappeared from the drawing board.
He reminded government that neighbouring countries such as Burkina Faso, Togo, Mali and Niger, who were using Ghana’s ports to transport their goods, had provided a permanent Lorry Parks for their counterparts and wondered why government had not done it for them.
“We are asking the GPHA to provide us with our own park like what pertains in our neighbouring countries. We are not prepared to move out of this park for any private developer,” Mr. Adams pointed out.
Source: GNA