Accra taxi drivers declare strike June 1

Some taxi drivers in the Accra Metropolis will park their cars from June 1, 2015 to register their protest over some new directives from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).

The Ghana Committed Drivers Association say activities at the DVLA frustrate their business. They said the DVLA's directive to only register commercial vehicles with seat belts will collapse their business.

According to the DVLA, the new directive is in conformity with Section 119 of the Road Traffic Regulation Legislative Instrument (LI) 2180 which will help achieve a 50 percent reduction in deaths and serious injuries associated with vehicle accidents by 2020.

Speaking at a press conference to announce their strike, the chairman of the Association Charles Mensah said the DVLA should be humane.

'They [DVLA] are worrying us with the new biometric road worthy sticker, our license and the seat belts that should be put in all trotro seats,' he said.

Mensah added: 'All our roads are not good; it is not the seatbelt which is killing Ghanaians, it is not the drivers who are killing Ghanaians, it is the bad roads we are working on. Nowadays, they are not potholes; they are manholes that we are working on.

'Traffic lights are not working; visibility is poor due to the dumsor which is going on. All these are the atrocities we are going through so we will strike.'

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