<<Print>>

Information reaching DAILY GUIDE indicates that some commercial drivers who do not belong to any drivers� union in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis have turned part of the runway of the Takoradi Airport behind the Jubilee Park into a lorry station. The recalcitrant drivers, according to sources, used to operate at two bus stops at Agip and the Edzii GOIL filling station, all in Takoradi. They usually pick passengers at unauthorized places to Accra, Winneba and Cape Coast. The drivers were recently evicted from the unauthorized areas by authorities of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) in collaboration with the Regional Police Command. This was after the regional executives of the Ghana Private Road and Transport Union (GPRTU) complained about the adverse effects the activities of the non-members were having on the operations of GPRTU drivers. DAILY GUIDE gathered that after their ejection, the commercial drivers invaded the runway of the Takoradi Airport behind the Jubilee Park in Takoradi. On June 2, 2012, the Boeing 727-200 cargo plane, operated by Allied Air of Nigeria, hit a minibus, killing 10 passengers including the driver. Owing to the disaster, some residents in the metropolis called on the authorities to, as a matter of urgency, relocate the drivers from �the dangerous zone.� Speaking to DAILY GUIDE in separate interviews, some officials of the regional GPRTU commended the authorities of the STMA and the Ghana Police Service for relocating the commercial drivers. They also called on all drivers to vacate unauthorized areas in the metropolis. John Laste, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the STMA told DAILY GUIDE that the assembly was not aware of the existence of an unauthorized station behind the Jubilee Park. He indicated plans to visit the place to take the necessary action to address the problems.