Koforidua, Aug. 17, GNA- A raging feud between the Madina-Accra branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Progressive Transport Owners Association (PROTOA) at the main Koforidua-Accra lorry park over attraction of passengers has led to intermittent clashes between them resulting in the wounding of some drivers and their supporters over a period now.
One such fight over territorial right that occurred on July 27, 2006, degenerated into a stone throwing fight leading to the wounding on the forehead of one Opare Asamoah, a driver.
The feud, said to have begun in 2003, over passengers for the lucrative road has resurfaced recently leading to breaches of the peace. A letter signed by the Secretary of the GPRTU faction, Mr Fred Ahen, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, among other organizations, including security agencies called for an early resolution of the problem to forestall any unpleasant situations.
He said his side felt offended by last month's clash during which, Mr Asamoah, an affiliate driver, sustained the injury on his forehead from a stone believed to have been thrown from the arsenal of the PROTOA side when the two were struggling for passengers that dawn.
Speaking to the GNA on Wednesday, Mr Ahen claimed that the governing rules on parking lots dictated that rival groups situated in opposite directions must not conduct their businesses beyond a statutory 50-metre distance but this was abused as was in their case.
According to him, the PROTOA side had persistently breached the line and sometimes forcibly take passengers from their side, which his group do protest against.
Mr Ahen said his side had been "very accommodating" as it had on diverse occasions sought ways to parley out their differences, but claimed the other side was yet to reciprocate their gesture.
The Secretary of the Lorry Park Management Committee of the New Juaben Municipal Assembly (NJMA), Mr John Donkor, confirmed the tense situation between the two bodies when contacted, adding that, the committee had met the factions on several occasions but that had not yet led to a final resolution of the problem.
In particular, he said, the two groups have been asked not to conduct any business within the neutral perimeters, but were to remain hedged to their allocated portions, yet a few days after such agreements, things usually returned to the previous situation. Mr Donkor, who is also the Budget Officer of the NJMA, hinted that the assembly, as a last resort, might prevent the two groups from loading at their allotted sites if the security situation at the park worsens and there is any likelihood that the safety of life and property could not be guaranteed.
He said the committee was in constant touch with the BNI, the Police and other security agencies, adding that a scheduled meeting within the coming week might look for some stringent measures of curtailing the incident.
In the meantime, he asked the two groups to respect all previous pacts and refrain from using loading boys at unapproved areas to forestall further skirmishes.
The Budget Officer advised the two groups to rather consider using the services of radio stations to advertise their products instead of resorting to violence to attract passengers.
Attempts to get the PROTOA version of the story proved futile as their Chairman was said to be out of town and the Secretary also was not at post at the time the GNA visited.
The Koforidua-Accra road is one of the most lucrative routes for transport unions in reaching the nation's capital and aside the feuding factions, services are being offered by the Peugeot Drivers Union, Benz Bus Group and the Co-operative Transport Society.
In their attempt to attract patrons, some loading boys, the henchmen of these unions, sometimes adopt robust methods and this quest to undo one another oftentimes led to fights among the groups. However, the situation was calm at the lorry stations.
