Insufficient parking space at Tema Port…compels long vehicle drivers to park haphazardly
In spite of efforts by management of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) to decongest the Tema Port area, the situation on the ground points to the fact that much more needs to be done.
This is because not only long vehicles, which have taken over the entire space around the port, but also other business concerns have joined the fray, to add to the already sordid situation in the area.
The long vehicles park so badly that they leave no space for other vehicles, which ply the road, to even park.
Long trucks, majority of which come from neighbouring countries such as Togo, Mali, Burkina Faso, among others, park haphazardly around the port area, especially around the Ghana Black Star building, and the major streets leading to the port.
There were also some broken down long vehicles, which have been abandoned right behind the Black Star Line building, without the knowledge of the authorities of the area.
Some drivers, who spoke to Tema Metropolitan File, said they were constrained to park there, and sometimes on the shoulders of the major streets within the Harbour city, because the GPHA had not been able to provide parking spaces around the peripherals of the Tema Port.
They admitted that even though they know that parking along the busy streets, sometimes lead to major road accidents in the city, they continue to do so, because they have nowhere else to park.
Other drivers also said they were forced to park there, because of unnecessary delays in the documentation process at the Tema Port.
They claim that transit cargo owners go through a whole lot of problems, during the processing of their documents with authorities at the Tema port, including the GPHA, Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), and even clearing agents.
They averred that when they have not received all the documents, they need to accompany the cargo, they cannot move, that is why they sometimes delay around the port.
However, the Public Relations Manager of the GPHA in charge of the Tema office, Mrs. Esther Gyebi Ababio, has denied the allegation, that her outfit had not provided parking space for the long vehicle trucks.
According to her, her outfit went into an agreement with a private company, Port Handling Company, to construct a parking space near Community Three (3), Tema, with modern facilities to accommodate the trucks, but the drivers have refused to park there.
When contacted the Manager of the facility, Stephen Awuni explained that the vehicles most of the time use the parking space only at night.
Source: Richard Kofi Attenkah, Tema - Ghanaian Chronicle
