Trotro drivers in Sekondi on strike

• Posted on July 4, 2014July 4, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Scores of commuters at the Sekondi ‘Tro-tro’ station yesterday became stranded, as the commercial drivers embarked on a sit-down strike in protest against the refusal of the city’s authorities to rehabilitate their deplorable lorry park.

According to them, the Sekondi station in Takoradi becomes messy whenever it rains.

‘So we have decided to lay down our tools from today since several attempts made to let the metropolitan assembly put the station in good shape have not yielded any positive response,’ one of the drivers told DAILY GUIDE.

The drivers’ action compelled hundreds of passengers, mostly workers and traders in some parts of metropolis, to walk from their homes to their various destinations.

When DAILY GUIDE visited the station at about 8am, most the drivers and their mates, who wore red arm bands, were seen relaxing in their vehicles.

Others were also seen in their vehicles.
The drivers apologized to the passengers for the unfortunate incident.

They, however, indicated that they had to protest against the city’s authority for allegedly refusing to give the station a facelift.

‘The main road leading to the station is so bad that we find it difficult making our daily sales to vehicle owners.

‘The station is full of potholes and whenever it rains, the drivers here find it difficult to get a place for the passengers to alight,’ they alleged.

The drivers also complained about the cost of spare parts in the face of frequent break down of the vehicles.

They asked the city authorities to heed their pleas and put the lorry park in good shape since they also contribute money to the city’s coffers.

Commuters were seen discussing how to trek to their destinations.

Some aggrieved commuters told DAILY GUIDE that although the drivers have the right to express their grievances, the method they employed was unlawful.

Speaking in an interview, Joseph Kinsley Eshun, the Station Master, confirmed that the drivers had lodged several complaints to the city authorities about the deplorable state of the lorry park.

He said that each of the over 300 drivers pays a fee of Gh40p daily to the assembly.

DAILY GUIDE gathered that some city authorities, led by the Presiding Member of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, Mohammed Ali, held a meeting with the drivers and assured them that their lorry park would soon be rehabilitated.

From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi