The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Accra Metroplitan Assembly (AMA) are at loggerheads as to who is responsible for the rate at which alcohol drinking spots are spreading at the various lorry stations, particularly those located in the central business district of Accra. The drivers union described the situation as disturbing and blamed the Accra Metropolitan Assembly for being responsible for the unhealthy development. The Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union, Alhaji E. A. Tetteh, described the situation as a matter of "serious concern” to the managers of the place because, according to him, it was encouraging the intake of alcohol among drivers during working hours. He said the licences for the operation of such spots at the stations were issued by the AMA, which also supervised and collected tolls from the operators. The AMA, on the other hand, says it cannot be blamed for the current situation. Denying that the AMA is to blame, the director at the Metro Public Health Department of the AMA, Dr S.A. Boateng, said his outfit did not issue permits for anybody to sell alcoholic drinks at the lorry parks. He said those infringing on the AMA bye-law which prohibits the sale of alcoholic beverages were food vendors who were permitted to operate as such, but, upon receipt of the permit, extended their business to include the sale of alcoholic drinks. He said the tolls were collected for the sale of food and not alcoholic drinks. He said the AMA bye-law prohibited the sale of alcoholic drinks at the lorry stations. Dr Boateng said a task force would be set up by the end of this week to arrest all food vendors who had turned their joints into drinking spots. He also used the occasion to educate the public on the dangers inherent in the intake of alcoholic beverages, particularly by drivers. When the Daily Graphic visited some of the lorry stations at Tudu, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Rawlings Park and Kaneshie, it found a lot of booze joints at the lorry stations there, most of them movable kiosks and wayside tables. At the Tudu station alone, there were more than 12 such joints, selling mostly hard liquor, including Akpeteshie, Prekese Bitters, Cocoa and other aphrodisiacs, which are patronised by drivers and passengers, some of them before taking their meals at the adjoining food joints. Alhaji Tetteh blamed the AMA for not having the will to sanction people who sold alcoholic beverages at the stations, stressing "this is done to the danger of human lives”. On why the GPRTU could not sanction operators at the stations, he responded that "both the GPRTU and the drinking spot operators are tenants of the AMA and it is not practicable for a tenant to sanction his colleague." He said drivers would not feel so easily enticed to the drink, if the spots were farther away from the stations. He said while some of the drivers took such drinks for appetite purposes, most of them engaged in such anti-social practice for the fun of it. Alhaji Tetteh said the union had never been happy at the continued existence of such spots at the lorry stations because “once you are behind the steering wheel, you need a sober mind and perfect concentration." Alhaji Tetteh, however, appealed to the various executives to intensify their educational campaigns for their member unions on the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol. Mr Martin Gakpe and Ruben Wagba, executive members of the Keta branch of the GPRTU, said the union had been strict on recalcitrant drivers by handing over any driver found drunk to the police. The Vice Chairman of the Branch Number 8 of the GPRTU, Mr Nelson Tseh, said the springing up of the drinking spots had been discussed at various fora and called on the AMA to sanction those operating such spots. Accidents on the roads have been attributed to various factors, including the type of vehicles being used, while the human factor, including drink-driving, has been identified as the major cause. Other sources told the Daily Graphic that some officials of the AMA conspired with the vendors, to perpetrate the illegality by issuing permits to the vendors to operate drinking bars and collecting daily tolls from them at the stations. source: Daily Graphic