Tema Station: We are not responsible for heap of rubbish at terminal – GPRTU

The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPTRU) has denied being responsible for the mountain of rubbish at the Tema Station lorry terminal near Ministries, the seat of government business, in the Greater Accra Region.

There has been a mountain of filth at the left wing of the lorry terminal near the Theodore Okoh Hockey Pitch.

According to the traders and the commercial drivers, the rubbish has sat in the area for the past couple of months.

The pile of filth emits a foul stench and has brought on an invasion of flies.

The traders say the rubbish is a result of the failure of the city authorities to periodically collect the filth after it has been dumped at the collection point in the area.

They are complaining that they pay daily tolls for the collection of rubbish in the terminal, adding that commercial drivers are also charged tolls at the gate for maintenance of the terminal but no true maintenance work is done.

Responding to the claims of the traders and commercial drivers, however, the Welfare Chairman of the GPRTU at the Tema Station terminal, Mr Kofi Afful, was categorical to say the union is not responsible for the collection of filth in the terminal.

He said the union used to be in charge of the collection of filth in the terminal but because of political expediency, some people went to the Assembly for the union’s contract with Jekora Ventures to be terminated.

Mr Afful exonerated the union from blame during an interview with the host of Ghana Yensom morning show, Odehyieba Kofi Essuman, on Accra 100.5 FM on Wednesday, December 7, 2022.

“After they have had the contract with Jekora Ventures terminated they have not been able to periodically collect the filth in the terminal,” he said.

He was blunt to say when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government came to power, people rose to say their government had come to power and that some of these contracts should be given to them.

“So here we are, the contract was taken away from the union,” he lamented.

He sarcastically said a clinic has been built in the terminal for the people suffering as a result of the filth to seek treatment.

He revealed that there are about one thousand head porters living in the terminal.

“They do almost everything in the terminal,” he added.

“It is only in this country that we use politics to destroy initiatives that will help the ordinary person.

“Now you see what we are confronted with,” he said.