No more hassles on transit routes

Truckers who ply their trade along the country’s transit corridors can now breathe a sigh of relief following an order from the police service restraining officers manning the various checkpoints along the routes from conducting checks on cargo trucks.

“The Police Administration has directed that, with immediate effect, policemen along the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) transit corridors should not conduct checks on transit cargo trucks.

“Any police officer or officers found to have gone contrary to this directive will be made to face the full rigours of the law,” warned a statement whose tone underlined the frustration and concern about reports of extortion and undue detention of cargo trucks and passengers at checkpoints along the transit routes.

The directive was passed after an extensive meeting between the Police Service and key stakeholders in the maritime industry -- notably the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA), the National Facilitation Committee (NFC) and the Borderless Alliance (BA) -- on how to arrest the falling transit trade through proper road governance.

Director-General in charge of the Press and Public Affairs at the Ghana Police Service, Rev. David Nemyi Ampah-Bennin, said the directive is his outfit’s response to the incessant reports of extortion along the country’s transit routes.

This, he said, will facilitate smooth and hassle-free movement of goods and services in ECOWAS countries, and ensure that transit cargo trucks have free access along the country’s corridors to their destination.

He explained that appropriate checks on transit trucks will be made at the various points of entry, after which the truck drivers will be certified and issued with a document to facilitate free movement from that point of entry to the destination.

He said the meeting agreed on the need for a platform that will enable truck drivers and the general public to report police officers who flout the directive, and therefore implored regional police commanders to ensure the activities of personnel on transit routes do not hamper trade between Ghana and its West African neighbours.

The new directive has come on the back of dwindling transit trade figures over the last few years, a situation that industry experts attribute to implementation of a rigid axle-load regime.

Transit trade, which saw a commendable eight-fold growth from 100,000 metric tonnes in 1999 to 800,000 in 2005, continues to be on the downside over the last few years -- with 2014 figures showing a further decrease of 290,859 compared to the 2005 figure.

Transit trade through Ghana’s ports contributes to the national economy through job-creation in the areas of trucking services, which ultimately results in more revenue for cargo handlers, the GPHA and dockworkers.

According to figures from the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, the haulage sector provides an average of 97,000 trucking jobs -- drivers and mates --per year for the northbound transportation of transit cargo destined for the Sahelian countries, generating a yearly income in the range of US$81million for local haulage companies.

General Secretary of the Ghana Transport Owners Association (GHATOA), Adam Saliah, told B&FT the directive is timely and that it will safeguard the interests of drivers when it is followed to the letter.

“This directive is coming on the back on interactions with the police service; it has come at the right time and I’m sure it will offer real convenience and comfort to truck drivers if it is enforced to the letter,” he said.

The term “transit trade” refers to the passage of goods, including unaccompanied baggage, across the territory of a state between a land-locked state and the sea when the passage is a portion of a complete journey beginning or terminating within the territory of that land-locked state and which includes sea transport directly preceding or following such passage.

Source: Thebftonline.com

By: Patrick Paintsil

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