DAILY GUIDE has observed that some lorry stations in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis are heavily congested as passengers, vehicles and vendors struggle for space, leading to insanitary condition.
Because of the situation, some vehicles have to park outside the stations for long hours before moving at snail pace into the main arena of the stations to convey passengers.
At the Takoradi-Kojokrom lorry station, it was observed that as a result of the congestion, drivers had taken over some adjoining roads and space around the station, parking their vehicles indiscriminately.
A couple of the drivers attributed the problem to the increasing number of cars that register daily with the authorities to use the station.
One of them said: “We have a lot of cars here but the place is small for us, so we have to park outside the station and wait for our turn before we can enter the station.”
He continued, “Sometimes we have to wait for more than one hour to get access into the station, and the busiest time at the station is the weekends when most people travel to attend funerals and visit their families.”
A vendor, Madam Cecilia Amoh Bothway also said, “We pay fees to the assembly, which gave us the permission to sell here. We also sweep here every day.”
She, however, indicated that some of the commuters and people who come around eat and throw the rubbish anywhere because the dustbins at the station are not enough.
GPRTU Speaks
Speaking on the issue in an interview with DAILY GUIDE, Mr. Joseph Kingsley Eshun, the Western Regional Vice Chairman of the Ghana Private Road and Transport Union (GPRTU), said several attempts had been made to help decongest the stations but to no avail.
He mentioned that, at the Takoradi-Kojokrom lorry station for instance, the executives of GPRTU have suggested to the assembly authorities to help move the station for three communities – Mpohor, Adum Banso and Daboase – from the Kojokrom station.
“There are certain areas around the Port and Railway quarters in Takoradi where new satellite stations can be created to help decongest the main lorry parks.
“These suggestions have been made but the assembly has done nothing about them,” he pointed out.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi