Go To Fishermen For Tolls – Angry Drivers

Alhaji Issah Tetteh

Officials of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) are fuming with rage over comments by the Asere Dzasetse of Ga State, Nii Amarkai III, for them to pay tolls to him (the landlord) and for that matter the Ga state.

On Monday, Nii Amarkai III said he was going to deploy his Asafoatsemei (warriors) to the various lorry stations in the capital city, Accra, to collect tolls from Trotro drivers since he could not fathom why he (the landlord) and his people continued to remain poor whilst the GPRTU was collecting tolls from these drivers.

'How can they operate on my land without paying tolls? Am I not a human being? I have so many children to feed…any Trotro station under Ga state from Tema to Sakumono East and West, will make sure all my chiefs go round and if you don't have my ticket, you would not be allowed to work,' he told journalists.

These were the comments that angered the Chairman of the Greater Accra regional branch of the GPRTU, Alhaji Issah Tetteh and his colleagues who are fuming with rage.

Yesterday, Alhaji Tetteh told DAILY GUIDE they had nothing to pay to the chiefs and people of Accra because they did not owe any allegiance to the Ga chiefs, adding that they were a union on their own.

Instead, he said, 'they should go to the beach and go and collect money from the fishermen because the beach is also in Accra. They should go to the farmlands and go and collect money from them. Go to the market and collect money from the tomato sellers, pepper sellers and every trader'.

He asked, 'Why single out GPRTU.  Even Bank of Ghana where the money is on their land, they should go there too.'

Under the current provision, he explained, the 'AMA has its own toll there and the GPRTU also has its own welfare money they collect from their members. So the AMA is collecting their toll up to today because they are the owners of the lorry park and then you come and you say that…no it will not happen.'

That notwithstanding, Alhaji Tetteh does not believe they can carry out the threat, saying, 'I don't think it's a directive. I just think it's somebody's imagination. They can't do it and if they try, they will fail.'

He dared the Dzasetse and his people to go ahead and carry out their threats and see what the outcome would be.

Asked whether the Asafoatsemei had not been to the various lorry stations at the time of the interview, the GPRTU boss said, 'They are even afraid to go there. Let them try it. Let them go and see who will receive them or they think we are women. We are all men oh. We are not women', emphasizing, 'Its better we die through our work than to survive and be slaves. We will not do it. We will not permit them. Let them try it, my brother let them try it.'

'We will not agree, emphatically no. They dare not even come to us because already they have not respected us. If they want such a thing and they didn't come to discuss it with us, we will also reply them on air,' he said.

He quizzed, 'How do they say that they want to go and take over the GPRTU or go and collect money from us? What have they done for us?'

The GPRTU boss said, 'If they think that we are human beings who need to be talked to, they come here we will receive them and tell them in the face that we will not do it.'

But Accra-based legal practitioner Bright Akwetey, who has a keen interest in issues surrounding the Ga state, has rubbished the Asere Dzasetse's comments.

He told Citi FM that by law, chiefs have no right or authority to make such a move, therefore Nii Amaakai III has no authority to demand such a toll since the collection of road tolls falls under the ambit and responsibility of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).

'He will have problems with that one because I don't know which area he will stand in Accra since he cannot go to Osu or La and collect tolls and say that I am the Overlord of Osu, La, Teshie or Nungua. He will do it in Ga Mashie but that is also under the administration of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly. And they have bye-laws to regulate these things'.

He added, 'The chiefs have no authority to collect tolls' and that 'if they are going to do that, they may have to go to the AMA and lobby them to pass a legislation that will allow some tolls to be collected by the AMA on their behalf'.

He however wondered the capacity in which they would be making any such move, indicating that 'it must be the Ga Mantse who should do that and not him (Asere Dzasetse).'

By Charles Takyi-Boadu