Cargo truck drivers appeal to police to stop harassing them

Berekum, Nov 18, GNA - The Brong Ahafo Regional Branch of Ghana National Cargo Transport Association was inaugurated at Berekum on Monday with a call for a halt to police harassment of members of the association.

Most of the members decried police harassment, said police demand bribes from them at checkpoints and called on the government to call the law enforcers to order.

They said whilst the police allowed all other vehicles to pass cross checkpoints, cargo trucks loaded with foodstuffs or any other items are unduly delayed ostensibly to force the drivers to part with money.

Inaugurating the branch Mr Kwabena Kyere-Yeboah, District Chief Executive for Berekum, cautioned members of the association that although the constitution permits freedom of association it does not give anybody the licence to create confusion.

The DCE called on members of the association to respect passengers and gave the assurance that the District Assembly would support their activities.

Mr Kyere-Yeboah said the assembly is building a maize market at Kotire to help farmers and urged members of the association to pay their taxes to enable the Assembly to complete more development projects.

Alhaji Aliyu Baba, Deputy General Secretary of the national association, reiterated the concern expressed by some members over police harassment and called for a halt to enable the association to continue to render services to the people and the nation.

He said from January next year the association would sell foodstuffs at reasonable prices to workers in the urban centres, especially in Accra. He expressed regret that during their 12-day tour of Brong Ahafo, they realized that lack of good roads to enable vehicles to reach some areas had contributed to foodstuffs getting rotten or middlemen cheating the farmers.