The Kejetia lorry terminal has been inundated with a number of outlets for alcohol, raising questions about the safety of commuters in the face of the presence of criminals.
Over eight alcoholic ventures have been sighted. Besides, table-top alcoholic shops are all over the place at night in the already congested lorry terminal, contrary to regulations of the road and transport industry in Ghana. The Chronicle can authoritatively infer that the safety of passengers and motorists are in great danger.
A working visit to the terminal saw as much as eight joints, where alcoholic beverages were sold to supposedly workers of the terminal. In our quest to ascertain the sort of drinks on sale in two shops, an order by this reporter to buy Malta Guinness in one was turned down, with a reply that only hard drinks are sold there.
In a conversation with one shop attendant, she disclosed that she sells as much as four gallons of locally manufactured gin, known as ‘Akpeteshie’, in a day. When reached on phone about alcoholic outlets at the terminal, the manager of the facility, Mr. David Agyei, stated that he was unaware of this development, but will ascertain the matter and act on it.
Commenting on the activities of nocturnal alcoholic table-top businesses in the Kejetia lorry terminal, Mr. Agyei noted that they have only 13 security officers who patrol the place at night, and that, at a point in time, these security guards were attacked, so they were forced to deploy a joint military and police team to stop the menace.
He explained that some of the structures are private, and do not belong to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), so it becomes difficult to control sale of items, but gave the assurance that the KMA bye-laws will apply to handle the issue. On the general security of the lorry terminal, Manager Agyei revealed that robbery in Kejetia had reduced drastically.
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