The recent spate of insurgent attacks on haulage truck drivers in the sub-region has put stakeholders on high alert as measures are being put in place to address the threat.
Reports were rife three weeks ago as over 18 trucks en route to Ghana from Niger were attacked by suspected jihadists in Burkina Faso and the trucks burnt beyond recognition. It is yet to be known how many drivers perished.
To help address the threat, the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) collaborated with the security services to train haulage truck drivers on some protective measures they can adopt to defend themselves and escape from such incidents.
This was inculcated in the GSA’s annual sensitisation workshop for haulage truck drivers which was held at Tema on Wednesday, 17th May, 2023.
Personnel from the Military, Police and Customs took the truck drivers through the Precautionary and Reactionary Security Assessment on the transit corridors. According to Capt. Ishmael Frimpong from the Ghana Armed Forces Training School, the insurgents mostly target cargo trucks transporting food items and urged the haulage truck drivers to be vigilant.
In a statement read on behalf of the CEO of the GSA, Ms. Benonita Bismarck, by the Head of Public Relations, Ms. Bernice Natue, she said the sensitisation workshop by the GSA was aimed at building the capacity of the truck drivers amid the insurgency attacks.
“The heightened security concerns and the risks posed to transit consignment, the trucks and in particular the life of the drivers and their assistants have largely informed the selection of the topics for the workshop,” she noted.
The Head of the Freight and Logistics Department of the GSA, Mr. Fred Asiedu Dartey, said recent happenings show that transit trucks are being targetted by insurgents, which was initially not the case.
“The insurgency has been around for some time, but the focus has not been on transit trucks. But it does appear that they have also become targets for the insurgents,” he stated.
The sensitisation workshop also featured presentations on the impact of the ECOWAS Brown Card Bureau on transit operations, Management of Transit Incidences along Ghana’s Transit Corridors, and the Status of the Axle Load Stations along Ghana’s transit corridors.
Some of the truck drivers who were concerned about the recent attacks on cargo trucks commended the GSA for taking swift measures, such as the sensitisation workshop, as it would enhance their operations.
