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Kpone drivers, police clash …over bad road,3 drivers injured
Three drivers got injured when the police fired rubber bullet gunshots at them, to disperse a crowd, during a scuffle with the law enforcement personnel at Kpone, in the Eastern Region.
This followed a sit-down strike by members of the Kpone branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) of the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
The action of the drivers, numbering about 100, resulted in hundreds of passengers, who travel from the Kpone township to Tema, Manhean, Kpone Barrier, Shanghai among others, stranded.
However, other drivers forced passengers to alight from vehicles of colleagues, who flouted the directive of the Kpone branch of the GPRTU.
In an interview with the Ghanaian Times, the trustee to the Interim Management Committee of the Kpone Drivers Union, Seth Nyarko, said the strike was to protest against the bad nature of roads in the area.
He said the roads from Tema Community 1 through to the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) road, Aluworks, Fuel Trade, Chase Petroleum to Kpone were in a terrible state.
He said drivers or vehicle owners spent a substantial amount of money to maintain their vehicles, and efforts to get the city authorities to fix the roads proved futile.
Mr Nyarko explained that the action was not a demonstration and was confined to the Kpone lorry station, and with placards which read, ‘Fix our roads’.
He said while the drivers were positioning the placards at vantage points, other people who were not members of the union joined the action.
Mr Nyarko said this led to a misunderstanding between the drivers and the police, and the security personnel fired rubber bullets to disperse the crowd, and in the process three persons sustained injuries.
He said all three persons had been treated and discharged.
Mr Nyarko said a meeting had been scheduled between the drivers and the Kpone Municipal Assembly to be facilitated by the Kpone District Police Command to find an amicable solution to the problem.
However, calm had been restored and the vehicles are back on road.
The Crime Officer for the Kpone District Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Herbert Sosu, condemned the strike by the drivers, describing it as illegal because the police were was not notified, and it infringed on the rights of other road users.
FROM DZIFA TETTEH, KPONE
Troubled and anxious citizens in Damongo of the Savannah Region have expressed concerns about the number of young people, believed to be under the age of 18, involved in ‘shisha’ smoking in pubs and drinking spots within the township.
Eyewitnesses say the minors were seen patronising nightlife venues, where Shisha smoking happen in the open.
The situation has sparked renewed public concern over the enforcement of child protection laws and regulations governing the operations of entertainment centres in the municipality and country as a whole.
An eyewitness, who spoke to The Spectator on conditions of anonymity for security reasons, noted that the situation was becoming increasingly common.
“This is not a one-off incident. It is becoming very common, but residents like us cannot openly report or speak about it because our lives will be at risk,” he said.
Under Ghanaian law, minors were prohibited from patronising Shisha.
Public health experts have consistently warned that shisha use exposes users to harmful substances that can negatively affect brain development, respiratory health, and overall well-being, particularly among young people.
The residents believe the alleged incidents point to broader challenges relating to youth supervision, substance abuse, and weak enforcement of existing regulations and have called on municipal authorities, security agencies, and regulatory bodies to intensify monitoring of pubs and entertainment centres to ensure compliance with the law.
In an effort to address the menace, Mr Salisu Be-Awurbi, the Savannah Regional Minister, has led public education campaigns, engaged security agencies, and supported enforcement actions to address the rising use of illicit substances in the region.
Wura Kelly Seidu Boresah I, the Chief of Damongo, has also called on all stakeholders including parents, community leaders, institutions, and young people to actively support efforts to curb drug abuse, warning that the rising consumption of hard drugs poses a serious health threat to the future of the youth in the Savannah Region.
He also cautioned individuals involved in the sale and distribution of illicit drugs to immediately desist from the practice, stressing that offenders will face arrest and prosecution in accordance with the law.
From Geoffrey Buta, Damongo, Savannah Region
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Dr Theresa Baffour, an advocate for ending violence and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SAHM SAHW Foundation, has said that society plays a critical and pivotal role in breaking the cycle of domestic violence.
According to her, domestic violence is a major contributor of making women, who are mostly the victims, mentally derailed and unable to engage in economic activities.
She said this when the foundation called on the Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, to solicit support for the initiative by the “Strong and Healthy Minds, Strong and Healthy Women” (SAHM SAHW) to combat domestic violence within the Ga State.
The visit was occasioned by the fact that domestic violence cases have become quite prevalent in the Ga communities and is retarding growth.
According to her, the canker was an impediment to national development because the victims were usually tortured and would have to go through series of therapies to return to the right state of mind.
Dr Baffour mentioned that Gender-Based Violence (GBV) places a mental toll on women, and was, therefore, important to break the cycle through comprehensive mental health support, crisis intervention and empowerment programmes in communities with high rates of GBV.
This intervention, she underscored, would help in empowering the denigrated victim of domestic violence to soundly heal, build and thrive.
Dr Baffour added that the initiative would provide holistic, trauma-informed mental health care and advocacy for young women affected by domestic violence.
According to her, the above statement would create safe spaces for healing and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills for renewed hope and empowered life.
The Ga Mantse pledged his support for the laudable initiative to combat domestic violence and also acknowledged the need to address it in the Ga State.
Further endorsement came from Justice Julia Naa-Yarley Adjei Amoah, Chief of Staff at the Office of the Ga Mantse, as she commended the team of SAHM SAHW Foundation for taking a bold step to end the canker in the Greater Accra.
She added that it was a step in the right direction to save vulnerable women from torture, stress and emotional abuse.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
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