Traders invade lorry Stations in Accra Traders invade lorry Stations in Accra

Accra, Jan. 9, GNA – Traders, food vendors, chop bar operators, second hand cloth dealers and mechanics have invaded most lorry stations in Accra, a Ghana News Agency monitoring has revealed.The worse affected are the 37 Military Hospital Lorry Station, the Aflao Station at Tudu, CMB Station near Tudu, and Tema Station near the Ministries all in Accra.GNA observed that the traders have taken over the pavements and passenger waiting sheds, whilst chop bar operators cook food in the open, under unhygienic conditions.Mr Kweku Frimpong, Welfare Chairman Ghana Private Road Traffic Union (GPRTU) branch at 37 Lorry Station told the GNA that the union has informed the La Municipal Assembly, overlords of the station to intervene.“We are waiting for their reaction towards the situation on the ground, the situation is very dangerous as now vehicles and vendors compete for space...sometimes as soon as you park to off-load or load passengers, the traders would spread their goods in front of the vehicle.“The local branch executives in their attempt to solve the overcrowding situating, allotted specific portions of the station to the hawkers and food vendors but they have not complied with this arrangement”.Mr Frimpong said the Union is however optimistic that the municipal assembly would address the challenge soon.  Mr Adu Manu, Station Master at Amasaman appealed to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to decongest the various lorry stations.He added that the Corporative Transport Society of Amasaman has developed tax mechanism from the food venders and other hawkers’ at the station to cater for the sanitation situations of the station.Mr Mark Aubry, Station Master at Nima however, appealed to the government to help decongest the stations but described the traders and vendors as “necessary evils”.He told the GNA that “we have embarked on a relentless struggle with the vendors to get them out but it’s a difficult task”.GNA Read Full Story