Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Takoradi
A team of police officers from the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service, led by its regional MTTU commander, has successfully relocated cocoa trucks which had parked dangerously on the streets and corners of streets in the metropolis.
The new location is Apowa in the Ahanta West District of the Western Region, which is about seven kilometres from Takoradi.
With the new arrangement, any truck driver who refuses to park at the new place would not have his goods offloaded.
Even though the new park is still under construction, it has basic facilities such as toilets, bathrooms and a resting place. Construction of new dormitories is ongoing.
According to the Regional MTTU Commander, Mr E. Adusa-Poku, who took the Daily Graphic on a tour of the metropolis, the drivers would be provided with new ID cards which would be inspected at the entry points before they were allowed to enter the centre.
“We had initial problems telling the drivers to go to the port to register before driving back to Apowa to park, but we have a special arrangement for those who issue the cards to move to the terminal, and it is working perfectly,” he said.
Now, he said, no truck carting cocoa from the hinterland could enter the area without the entry card and if any truck entered town, it meant it was its turn to offload its goods.
He said the move would not only bring sanity on the roads but also a sigh of relief to other road users in the metropolis and first-time visitors to the metropolis.
The MTTU commander used the opportunity to advise truck drivers not to abuse the system as the focus was to ensure that the roads become safe for other road users.
Some of the truck drivers, who spoke to the Daily Graphic ,said the move to relocate them was in the right direction, even though initially the drivers would face difficulties.
They accused those registering the vehicles of giving preferential treatment to some drivers. “You come before them, but before you realise they have had their goods offloaded and you would have to wait for a long time, but it is supposed to be on a first come, first served basis,” one driver explained.
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