By Alfred Kwesi Adams
The impunity, with which mining companies in the region have been taking over the roads with their heavy duty trucks, barring other vehicles from using them, is gradually gaining notoriety in the region.
The heavy duty trucks are big, and when on the road, no other vehicles can move, except to park and wait for them to pass. Though the busy activities on our roads reduce during the wee hours, the mining companies do not move their trucks during such hours. However, they move them during the day time when the roads are busy.
This notoriety and unprofessional conduct by the mining companies have come to stay as a result of the police shepherding the trucks. The police are seen leading the trucks and directing other incoming vehicles to park aside in order that the heavy trucks could move unhindered.
A clear example is how the police, last Tuesday, shepherded three heavy duty trucks belonging to the mining companies on the main Tarkwa to Takoradi road, making it difficult for incoming vehicles.
With other vehicles trailing the trucks, they have to continue to trail the trucks till they eventually get to their destination. This situation leads to heavy traffic on the road in question. For about three hours, the road from Agona to Takoradi was jammed as a result of the heavy traffic, with passengers on the receiving end, as no vehicle was ready to pick them.
This situation compelled other drivers transporting passengers from Agona to Takoradi to drop them half way through their journey. This is because the drivers could not afford to get stuck in traffic being unsure how long it could last. For about two hours, vehicles trailing the heavy duty trucks were still stuck in traffic, from Apowa to Apremdo.
In a related development, there is unprofessional conduct being exhibited by the police manning the Apowa-Apremdo barrier.
The Regional Police Command, which is led by DCOP Alex Quainoe, seems to be uncaring about the unprofessional conduct of the personnel manning the barrier in question. Though the Police personnel at the barrier have the duty to help ease traffic congestion on our roads, the opposite is what the peace officers are doing at the Apowa-Apremdo barrier.
This alleged unprofessional conduct of the police extorting one Ghana cedi from drivers plying the road has been the main cause of the heavy traffic jam. Traffic jam could be so excessive from the main Apowa township to the barrier, raising questions of the duty of the police on duty there.