Ghana loses $1b due to overloading of vehicles

The act of overloading vehicles is a serious problem in Ghana. The act is said to have cost the country more than $1 billion in five years.

According to a report in the Daily Graphic issue of Thursday August 26, 2010, the loss to the country results from damage caused to the country’s roads by overloaded vehicles. The newspaper quoted the Minister of Roads and Highways citing the report of a survey conducted recently on various sections of the trunk road network in the country.

The minister, Joe Gidisu said the huge cost is a major concern to the government. He said these when he addressed a workshop on the harmonization of the regulation on axle load in ECOWAS member states.

According to the minister, Ghana’s decision to enforce the axle load limit regulations has forced transit trucks from landlocked countries to relocate to countries that did not enforce axle load limits in the sub-region.

The report cited statistics from the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) indicating that due to the enforcement, transit trade at Ghana’s main harbor, the Tema Port has declined to 46% from 169,666 metric tons in the third quarter of 2008 to 91,472 metric tons. The Takoradi Harbour has seen a 34% drop in transit trade within the same period from 320 metric tons to 212 metric tons, it said.

The minister said in the last five years, Ghana and its development partners have spent about $1.6 billion on the road sector.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi