‘Axle-weigh regime is biased’

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Anthony Agbemehia, the Chairman of the Tema-Accra branch of the Tipper Truck Drivers Association, said the law that debarred tipper trucks from exceeding a maximum payload of 27,000 kilogrammes was only applicable to private trucks, whereas state-owned trucks flagrantly flouted the directive without the authorities sanctioning them.

He held the view that it was unfair for the authorities to punish private truck drivers who contravened the directive of the Ministry of Roads and Highway when trucks belonging to the state and some companies whose tonnage far exceeded the set axle load limits operated without any hindrance.

Level playing field

Expressing the frustrations of members of the union, Mr Agbemehia insisted that there should be a level playing field for stakeholders in the haulage business.

“It is our candid opinion that the government should come out with a comprehensive standard that all stakeholders must comply with.

Common Position

Mr Agbemehia suggested that the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) should adopt a common position on the issue to guide those who imported trucks into the country.

He explained that this was necessary because for the past 10 years, there had been consistent importation of trucks that weighed over the maximum tonnage even when empty.

He contended that it was the lack of standardisation that had made buyers patronise those trucks.

Destruction of roads

Mr Agbemehia also discounted the claim in certain quarters that truck drivers were the cause of the deplorable state of roads in the country. He pointed out that many roads within the Accra and Tema metropolises, which were not regularly used by trucks, had been destroyed soon after construction due to shoddy work by contractors.

He said much as the union conceded that there was the need to protect the roads from destructive activities, it was pleading with the government to give the operators of such trucks a period of grace of two years, to enable them to phase out the overweight trucks.

Permissible load

Tipper trucks were initially permitted to carry loads exceeding 30,000 kilogrammes but this had been revised downwards to a maximum tonnage of 27,000 kilogrammes to prevent the rapid deterioration of roads. 

However, according to the tipper truck drivers, some trucks had an empty weight of 14,000 kilogrammes with the cubic capacity of about 29,000 kilogrammes, totalling a gross weight of about 43,000 kilogrammes a clear 16,000 kilogrammes over the permissible axle payload.