Truck drivers who are stranded at Buipe are appealing to the Ministry of Roads and Highways to reopen the Buipe and Yapei bridges and allow them crossover to their various destinations.
The drivers who have been stuck at the edges of the bridges since the Minister for Roads and Highways ordered for their closure on Thursday.
Speaking to GhanaWeb, Baba Shafiu, a truck driver who ply the Kumasi-Burkina Faso route complained that they have not been given any reason for the bridges being closed. He said staying at the place for five days hasn't been a pleasant experience since they can't get either food or water to buy.
Another driver, Mohammed appealed for them to be allowed to cross the bridge adding that they won’t use the route again until they get information that the bridges have been fixed
According to the Assemblyman for the area, Alhassan Seidu, many traders have had to throw their rotten goods away incurring a lot of losses. He said the assembly is unable to manage the situation since they don’t have any information.
“There’s a lot of women who are crying here because they’re goods are spoilt, and they had to throw everything away. How are they going to make accounts?” he noted.
He added, “the other time when it happened they kept some plate on the broken part so some of the big trucks managed to pass but this time they have been here for the past five days and they haven’t done anything”.
Mr Seidu said even though they are expecting a contractor to start maintenance works on the bridges, they neither know who the contractor is nor when he will start work.
He also suggested that a notice be placed at Techiman so drivers do not have to drive all the way to Buipe before realising the problem but use a different route when they get to Techiman.
According to GhanaWeb’s checks, drivers are taking advantage of the situation to charge more fares than they usually do. A journey that used to cost GH¢10, for instance, is now costing almost GH¢25.
People with loads that can be easily carried have to either walk or join ‘Mahama cambu’ or Okada for GH¢5 to the other side of the bridge and continue their journey from there.
