The Transport Minister Dzifa Atsivor has openly condemned the actions of commercial bus drivers who left thousands of passengers stranded on Monday morning, protesting against the new licensing policy by the Driver and Vehicular Licensing Authority (DVLA).
The sector in an interview on Eyewitness News said the drivers had no right to take the law into their own hands by protesting and blocking roads to press home their demands.
[contextly_sidebar id=”j1vu2DSx2OnB72eMeT6w5fSP3cYivzXU”]“In the first place, they didn’t even send their petition to us for us to even say we cannot do anything about it or we reject their proposal. You just get up one morning and cause a lot of disaffection to the traveling public. It is not right,” she complained.
“If they have their concerns, they should write to us at the Ministry, we will sit down and see how best we can meet them halfway but I am not happy they decided to take the law into their own hands,” she insisted.
The situation caused massive vehicular traffic due to the road blocks, while hundreds had to make their journey on foot.
The Police have arrested dozens believed to be responsible for the road blocks but the drivers say the action by the Police has spurred them on to continue with the strike.
Dzifa Attivor on Eyewitness News condemned their actions and apologized to all passengers who were affected.
She announced that her outfit, together with the DVLA is however willing to sit at the negotiating table with the drivers.
“If they can contact me, I will be available because through discussions, we can find out how well we can help them. We will see how we can meet them halfway.”
Sanity on our roads
The Transport Minister noted that it is imperative for Ghana to bring sanity into its public transportation system to correspond with the growth in the economy.
“If we say we are a lower middle income country, we must improve upon our public transport system. Our economy is growing, if we are not careful, this will bring the city to a halt and we will not even be able to move,” she argued.
According to her, the striking drivers would have to understand the steps being taken by the DVLA to protect both their lives and that of their passengers.
“When we are growing, we have to adopt certain actions that will lead to the overall benefit of the economy. We need to put some sanity on our roads…we need to put some sanity in the system. So they have to understand us. If they have their concerns they should come to us.”
Consultation
Dzifa Attivor however dismissed assertions that the drivers embarked on the strike because the DVLA failed to undertake broader consultation with the leadership of the various driver unions before the new policy was rolled out.
She mentioned that “the DVLA and Road Safety have engaged the GPRTU on the new computerized system.”
“I know a lot of discussions went in, they went round the country meeting drivers at the union level so maybe because they are not a recognized body under the GPRTU system that is why they did not get the chance to meet the DVLA. Maybe, it could be the reason.”
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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