Hundreds of commuters, including market women, schoolchildren, and workers, who use the Kojokrom Main Lorry Terminal in the coming days may face the consequences of a standoff between the Kojokrom branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA).
Members of the GPRTU's Kojokrom branch are refusing to pay parking tolls in protest of the Assembly's alleged reluctance to pay royalties owed to the union.
Moses Mensah, the terminal's chairman, indicated that the Union is entitled to 10% of the cash generated by parking charges collected from commercial drivers utilizing the port.
"However, it's been six years and the assembly has still not released our share to us," he said.
When asked why it took the Union six years to request the funding, he stated that "there was no unity among the executives at the Kojokrom bus terminal." We are currently working together to remedy all of our faults. And one is to seek what we are due. The 10% figure is one. The assembly is giving us a bad deal, and it has to stop."
Mr. Mensah stated that the Union decided to stop paying parking charges because all efforts to convince the assembly to release its 10% portion had failed.
"One could wonder why we are requesting these sums. We utilize it to solve problems here. There are currently numerous problems that make it difficult to operate here. The entrance is in poor condition. We don't have power here. And, because the assembly is not performing their job, they must provide the monies to us so that we may do it ourselves."
However, STMA Public Relations Officer John Laste responded that the Assembly has no contract with the union and hence will not be entitled to any 10% profits.
"We have two methods for handling terminals. So, for example, if the assembly declares a location as a terminal, the terminal belongs to either a transport operator or the assembly."
"The assembly only pays royalties when there is an agreement between the assembly and the transport operator," he noted. As of now, there is no agreement between the assembly and the transport companies at the Kojokrom terminal. As a result, no one is entitled to royalties there. Furthermore, they do not own that terminal."
Commuters hope that the union and the assembly can settle their disputes peacefully because they are concerned about a strike that would disrupt their movements.