|
|
Ghana: Sefwi-Wiawso GPRTU Embarks On Demo
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)
8 May 2008
Posted to the web 8 May 2008
Alfred Adams & Zam Samin
The Sefwi-Wiawso branch of the Ghana Private Road and Transport Union (GPRTU), yesterday morning, embarked on a massive demonstration exercise, to kick against the introduction of the Metro Mass Transit (MMT) buses to ply the area.
Clad in red bands, the members of the GPRTU, burnt lorry tyres, and in the process blocked the main Sefwi Wiawso road, leading to Takoradi and Kumasi, to prevent the MMT buses from operating.
It took the swift intervention of a joint police and military team, to quell the demonstration, which in the process saw the MMT and other buses, gaining access to the above-mentioned road.
Speaking to newsmen on the reason behind the demonstration, Mr. Adu-Kwasi, the local Chairman of the Sefwi-Wiawso GPRTU, pointed out that ever since the MMT buses were introduced, it had denied the local transport access to business, thereby killing their business.
What was more annoying, according to the Chairman, was the fact that whenever a passenger, who had earlier joined the local GPRTU buses for a journey, saw the MMT buses parked, they would get off from the local buses to join the MMT.
Chairman Kwasi recounted a situation whereby, prior to the introduction of the MMT buses in the area, the local buses were transporting passengers, from Sefwi to Kumasi and Takoradi, making about 40 trips per day, but with the inception of the MMT buses, the story is totally different.
A situation, he observed, if not checked, was undoubtedly a big threat to the local transportation business.
As a result, the GPRTU had no other option, than to embark on the demonstration, to put their concerns over.
|
The chairman also accused the District Chief Executive (DCE) of the area, Yaw Atta, of being the brain behind the collapse of the local transport business.
But the DCE denied the accusation saying, "We are in a competitive environment, and the public has decided to use the MMT, and nobody can be accused of any wrongdoing."
Meanwhile, the Regional Minister, Mr. Anthony Evans Amoah, has assured the executives of the GPRTU of meeting them on Friday to address their concerns.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 Ghanaian Chronicle. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
