An exploration of the use of information amongst Ghanian truck drivers

1. transportation module viability study
written and researched by mr.tom.n@gmail.com
conducted 26/04/2010 - 26/05/2010

2. Contents
1.0 Summation of findings
2.0 Recommendations for transportation module
3.0 Recommendation in terms of esoko
4.0 Findings
5.0 Transport research
6.0 Map of research
7.0 Additional data on Techiman

4. 1.0 Summation of findings
The potential benefit of developing a transport module is found
within the numerous practices of the transportation system that
waste the time, money and fuel of the participants. Whether this
is a driver driving empty in search of a load, a buyer standing with
their goods in need of transport or a stationmaster delaying a
waybill for lack of information.
These instances are all responsible for the hiking of prices in order
that the costs of the inefficacies are met.
The esoko system can produce more money within the system
by reducing the cost of doing business, these cost reductions
should be then past on to those either side of the transportation,
in essence allowing the buyer to pay more for goods or buy more
of them, this should reduce prices of foodstuffs due to the greater
supply of goods.
For the esoko system the inclusion of transportation allows for the
possibility of recordable and trusted trading through the inclusion
of third party guarantors. This can bring the esoko system to a
point that more closely mirrors the manner in that business is
conducted, the relational character being more closely involved.
There are strong hierarchies at work within the markets of Ghana
and esoko benefits little from their exclusion by integrating
aspects of these associations, as with the MOFA remunerators,
esoko stands better placed to realise its ambition to move
towards remote trading and acquisition of goods.
The reality of developing the functionalities and reaching the
agreements needed to implement the system described below are
by no means easy. I do however believe that in order for esoko
to succeed in terms of the movement of more than information
it has to align itself to a trusted transporter of goods. Until it is
able to foster a belief in the physical relocation of items across
its network there is little chance of people adopting it on those
terms.

6. 2.0 Recommendations for transportation module
There are perhaps two positions that should system.
be considered as to the viability of producing a In terms of climate change one of the biggest
transport module; firstly there is the question of its expenses is fuel so this can be neatly woven into
benefit to transporters specifically. Secondly there any discussion of its potential benefit.
is the question of what it may mean for the current
esoko platform. 2.3 Driving empty
2.1 Union organisation & access The frequency with that this occurs unfortunately
seems to affect most drivers once or twice bi-
The marked movement of the union away from monthly, for drivers of particular vehicles going to
welfare and towards becoming a semi-corporate some destinations (such as articulators moving to
logistics and buying organisation provides the the north) it is rather the rule. The decision to drive
union with some difficulties. Although its stations empty is fuelled by a lack of knowledge of an area,
are usually competently run and well aware of the the belief that loads cannot be found and often
locality with that they operate data held in one the visual impact of seeing other cars waiting for
station is only held in that station and is unable loads at a station. This situation may be helped if
to interact with that of other stations. Besides the information concerning the arrival of trucks could
meetings of stationmasters held a few times a year be held by the destination station prior to their
there are no mechanisms for the movement of arrival.
information. Currently some stations are advertising
on the radio to boost sales, giving out phone 2.4 Aggregation
numbers for extra business. It would seem that
for the unions to continue to prosper they will at This could allow traders within the destination areas
some point have to move towards a centralisation to consider loads that they may not have without
of data. Some of the stations have computerised the notification of transport. A possible automatic
data already but as yet it is still static. The ability aggregation of goods within the system, of linking
to organise themselves will ultimately become a geographically close offers to produce larger loads
necessity and the growth of transport companies that would allow a single truck to move amongst
attains to this. the producers rather than the aggregation of buyers
reliant on personal association and knowledge. This
2.2 In terms of drivers may produce the possibility of more loads.
Drivers have less work than they used to, this is 2.5 Route planning
blamed on the financial crisis, the NDC, previous
policies of the NPP. Cheating market women, police Automatically producing a suggested waybill for
interference, the growing numbers of trucks and the stationmaster that provides what the system
the adoption of Kia cars by store owners reducing considers the most direct route would reduce the
workload. time needed for waybill creation. This can be a
It is abundantly clear is that within the systems process that holds the drivers up at the station.
that direct the work of drivers there are a number This in an afternoon will increase the number of
of inefficient practices that produce financial leaks police check points that a vehicle will have to pay
that operate to increase prices and decrease the money to. Also it is not clear that stationmasters
money spent on goods. If these holes can be filled always know the quickest route. For some stations
then there will ultimately be more money in the the destination is very regular but for others they

7. are constantly shifting, certainly those that exist possibilities of user derived content about the
outside the country are often unknown. positions of attacks and safety on the road. This
system if wanted could move to include information
2.6 SOS about mechanics and breakdowns.
The SOS service currently relies upon the end 2.8 Load finder
station or the originating station to basically stump
up the truck needed to rescue the goods. This For drivers that are waiting at a station with a
means that the cars that come travel often large long queue ahead, the possibility of providing
distances to collect goods on a long route. This information about the closest and least supplied
may be the difference between goods spoiling or station might reduce the circumstance of drivers
not. If the SOS could be organised from the closest choosing to travel without knowledge of a load, on
station with a suitable truck then it is possible that the off chance. It would allow drivers to move to
this circumstance might be changed. It is also true areas of demand rather than waiting. This would
however that there are barriers of pricing cost to allow circumstances where buyers are awaiting pick
this notion. up with crops that are spoiling to be reduced.
2.7 SMS push
The existing ‘push’ function could be put to good
use with the integration of a map function and the
ability to automatically group drivers within the
system. Should road conditions change drivers
currently alert stationmasters, this information is
then fed to the drivers, it however relies upon the
stationmaster and does not necessarily reach any
of the other cars that have originated from other
stations, centralising this data would allow for
group alerts.
The same could be argued of the bandits and the

8. 3.0 Recommendation in terms of esoko
3.1 Trusted party 3.3 Increasing sales
Currently the trading of goods across the esoko The traders working across the esoko system are
system can only be organised privately through two operating currently in an unfamiliar environment in
individuals agreeing off the system to exchange that they are less comfortable about making deals
goods with one another. This requires the full or operating. Through the inclusion of nationally
expression of trust to be centred in the verbal recognised members of trading partnerships and
agreement that they make with one another. their relationship to buyers and sellers alike esoko
may begin to produce a more simulated version of
By producing a system that used the GPRTU as the existing system. This would hopefully encourage
the trusted party both in terms of handling the greater patronage.
money and assuring the crop esoko may produce an
environment of trust.
The production of a waybill would ensure that the
goods were those picked; a driver is liable if those
inside the car don’t match the assigned waybill.
The driver is also unlikely to agree to the loading of
rotted fruit, the driver is also liable for the state of
the goods.
If the GPRTU handled the money then they may
also be relied upon to deliver it as records exist of
their receiving the money and drivers are required
to carry recognition of the receiving of it on the
waybill.
3.2 Value of the site
The fact that esoko does not have any clear way of
recognising whether people have traded across its
system means that it is unable to properly register
its true worth.
If esoko is ever going to operate as a successful
trading platform it will have to be able to quantify
the sales that it hosts in order to attain to the scope
of its activities.
A moderated sales system that includes a third
party guarantor also provides protection.

10. 4.0 Findings
4.1 Driver’s resources The money that the driver makes from these small
trips, as opposed to the long journeys, is exclusively
The drivers that I met where on the whole for the driver and his mate/s.
reasonably literate with most speaking some This is basically the predominant income that the
level of English as is common with the Ghanaian driver earns, the amount paid to him by the owner
population as a whole. Although many of those that barely covers his food bill.
drive the northern passages hail from communities
in which English is scarce, often only spoken by few These conditions mean that if a driver reaches
of the members, the need to speak languages from somewhere that he feels he is unlikely to find a load
other parts of the country means the drivers have a they will often quickly turn back if they can afford
fairly good grasp of language. the fuel to do so. Fuel is expensive when a car is
fully loaded, for instance the trip from Kumasi to
All drivers use mobile phones, they are the Bolga costs approximately 600 cedi.
predominant way in that they are able to contact When the car is empty it uses considerably less and
one another and their station office. If you visit drivers will often argue that it is better that they
stations across the country you will find the walls return back to their home station than to take on
covered in phone numbers, some of the station board the costs of trying to wait to find work at the
masters also keep more detailed written details on branch where they will be forced to pay the costs of
the drivers however only those that are regularly living.
stationed in that particular area. The small trips that they make are also important
to this decision, as they will be the main source of
Drivers tend to choose a base-station that is income for the driver.
situated close to their house and family. For a driver
to stay away from their home basically means they 4.3 Payment
will need to sleep in the car or underneath it unless
they have someone that they can stay with in the Drivers receive the money for the load either from
town. They will also need to pay for food, this costs the buyer or through the owner of the car if the
about two cedi per day, and is an important reason buyer of the goods is not travelling with the car or
for a driver to choose to leave a place rather than meeting it.
wait for a load. The drivers need to carry sizable amounts of money
as they will need to buy fuel besides that money
4.2 Drivers earnings they have collected for the load. Before the car
leaves the station they will pay 10% of the fee to
Drivers when asked about their earnings on the the cargo station as dues for the load they have
whole gave answers ranging between 30 and 60 organised.
cedi, this is obviously a very low amount and given They then go to the nearest fuelling station and buy
the cost that some reported spending on rent and the fuel for the journey. Each driver requires a stack
food seems impossible. of small bills for the payment of bribes, as no driver
It did later transpire that there is a good reason for wants to be caught out having to ask a policeman
this as they are actually earning more. If they stay for change.
in an area where they know people and are known
to people then they will invariably be asked to drive
some small loads around the town making short
trips to nearby villages and other such small trips.

11. The payment for the transportation may have been vehicle is loaded, a busy station may delay for a
paid upfront or may be on credit, it seems to be the few hours and this causes problems for drivers in
case that usually most mixed loads are in part paid terms of time taken as well as the number of police
for and in part not, barriers they can expect to face.
These costs are considerable and although they
4.4 Costs come out of the pocket of the owner technically
they will also impact upon the amount of money a
Drivers complain of the level of work that they driver is likely to be able to take home.
currently receive, it seems most are able to get
between 2 and 4 journeys in a month, when they 4.6 Banditry
receive the money for this it works out as being
between 30 and 60 cedi. Driving at night requires that the driver is wary of
The bulk of the profit goes to the owner for almost bandits that operate particularly near Kintampo
all of the money per journey is given and from that. and Techiman where the long stretches of sparsely
populated bush make it easier to rob without
If a truck travels from Tamale carrying bags of witnesses.
maize bag to carry to Bolga then the load costs The road barriers have been effective in stopping
1500 cedi. The fuel costs about 600 cedi and the the frequency of these attacks however they
station takes 150 cedi. The duties on the road will nevertheless seem to happen nightly.
cost as much as 150 cedi and the car will most likely A driver’s defence against this happening is either
return empty costing 300 cedi the owner will take to avoid the remote roads at times when they are
the remaining 300 providing perhaps 40 cedi of it to known to be dangerous or to phone other drivers or
the driver with something small for the mate/s. the station master for information.
In this way the owners of the vehicles do They are not unduly worried about the thieves, as
fantastically better than the drivers. The drivers they prefer to attack buses, as the money is likely to
admit this quite freely and seem to regard the be better.
situation as given.
They make their money from the little trips and in 4.7 Maintenance and Breakdowns
some cases this is explicitly the agreement between
the driver and owner. The possibility of breakdown is very evident
and problems with the wheels also. They do not
4.5 Stations and waybills however seem to cause the drivers serious problems
as the drivers have proved in all occurrences I’ve
Drivers are hired mostly through the cargo stations witnessed to be able to fix the problem within a sort
however there are some that choose to pick a spot period.
away from the station and look for loads from these The common complaints have been wheel problems,
places. brakes, lights and clutch issues. I have been related
The price of hiring drivers like this is less however stories where the vehicle has had to stop for a night
there are also few guarantees that the loads will because the job was beyond the skill of the driver
arrive. Stories of whole loads being stolen in this however only on two occasions has this been the
way are not uncommon. case. Where it is so a mechanic is sought from a
nearby place.
Organised through the station the drivers must If the car does not have the parts to make the fix on
wait for the vehicle to be loaded and the waybills the side of the road they may also have to await the
prepared. The waybill is vital as they will be asked arrival of another truck. It seems there are very few
to produce their papers at numerious points during circumstances in that a driver may be unwilling to
the trip. To move without the bill is likely to incur give help to another driver, in circumstances where
the need to pay large sums to the police and the drivers did not know the other drivers, where
customs officials. the other drivers were even coming from Burkina
The waybill is produced by the stations and basically the driver was still willing to lend the other drivers
details the goods and destinations held within the their spare wheel on the understanding that they
truck. Although it is also the case that these things would pick it up again when they got to Kumasi.
may sometimes be added to by the driver looking They did however return to the vehicle muttering
for a little extra in his pocket. If this happens it is about drivers that could be silly enough to consider
likely he will either have to pick the extra along the such a journey without a wheel.
way or to bribe the loaders.
In other cases other vehicles have offered help
mechanically and with supplies also. This unofficial
service seems to keep most of the vehicles on the
The waybills are not always ready at the time the road.

12. The oil is also changed approximately once every as bandits.
three trips in order that the car is in good shape.
They will negotiate on behalf of the drivers to
Maintenance is supposed to be carried out by the keep the cost of bribes in check, to do this station
owner and is considered a fairly costly aspect of masters will pass information concerning the costs
looking after the vehicle, if an owner is bad then of bribes up the chain until the national executive
they will fail to properly maintain the vehicle, will take its complaint to the MTTU (although it
equally if the driver is no good they will drive the must be diplomatic).
car in such a way as to damage it. The costs of transportation are decided by the
stationmaster, this may be done in the sense of
4.8 Transport unions negotiation or by deciding upon fixed costs that
they apply across the board. Even if this is the case
The main transport unions of Ghana are the GPRTU, there is generally some negotiation as the loads are
GNHTA and the GNTCA, of these three the GPRTU very rarely exactly what is prescribed by the pricing
is far larger with the GNCTA having little influence list.
outside Accra.
Despite their separate states they all work with one 4.9 Trading Associations
another harmoniously at least so it seems.
Trading or buyers associations are also responsible
The stations all have their particular conditions for the organisation of goods; they do this through
and idiosyncrasies but all are bound to an overall organising the deals between the buyers and sellers
constitution that directs they’re basic working through negotiation on their behalf. They are also
practices in so far as the information they must involved with the aggregation of goods from the
provide drivers and the documentation of loads. villages.
This they do through the information they are
The station’s executive is in most circumstances passed from agents that they have within rural
elected, in cases where this wasn’t explicitly said it markets and those that travel to the farm gate.
seemed that the executive existed by consent in the
face of superior ability or perhaps lack of challenge. Working within an association may be a tightly
The need to document the members includes the controlled system with price controls and punitive
documentation of vehicle owners, drivers and measures for those that seek to avoid them such as
mates, addresses, mobile numbers and vehicle the Techiman and Kumasi markets. They may also
numbers. be associations that are only loosely organised and
The waybill will document the items the truck is operate no particular pricing control over the goods
carrying the destination of the items, the person as with parts of the Tamale, Takoradi and Techiman
for whom the items are due. Mobile numbers are markets.
included if possible and records of whether payment
has been received for the goods is always recorded The trading associations and even individual buyers
with a clear distinction made in the colour of the are often involved with the provision of credit to the
ink. farmers and even smaller traders down the chain
from themselves. This on the one hand provides
The unions will actively seek arrest of drivers that security to the farmers in times of need but for the
cause problems for the union; some have gone so association also allows them to better calculate the
far as to advertise phone numbers for the reporting quantity of goods they are likely to have in harvest
of bad behaviour. seasons.
In some cases the stations will operate as a trading The provision of credit also allows the buyers to put
partner putting the producers and buyers together pressure on the farmers to sell at times when the
and working to aggregate loads to produce the market price is low then guaranteeing more profit
required number of goods. Unions may also vet to the buyers that can then store the goods and sell
drivers for their local knowledge to ensure that they them at a higher price.
are fully aware of their destinations. In some circumstances it seems as though the
trading association is also largely in control of the
Unions provide the SOS service where possible; local cargo station, they will be responsible for
sending trucks after vehicles that have suffered putting loads together and then organising the
a breakdown from that it cannot be repaired. manner of how the truck is supposed to move. In
This works to a differing amount depending on situations such as the Kumasi Tomato queen and
the station. They will however be responsible for associated tomato union they were responsible
pursuing the driver should they fail to make the for deciding exactly how many trucks would be
delivery on time, as will they for alerting the driver responsible for servicing each of the large southern
to poor road conditions and possible dangers such markets.

13. This level of control extended all the way into the 4.11 Police, customs, tolls and weigh stations.
destinations of the trucks and then the final prices
that the tomatoes could be expected to fetch at The police and other organs of law enforcement are
their final destination. Associations of the Nigerian one of the most often stated problems faced by the
onion men are similar to this in the extent of its drivers. This is not necessarily representative of the
control over the market. actuality of what effects the work but it is certainly
that most felt by the drivers.
Most of the associations met were reasonably open
and many had happily collaborated with MOFA in The numerous stops and tolls requested of the
determining their trading patterns, there were of drivers can cost sometimes half as much as the
course those associations that viewed any attempt fuel may and is a process that most drivers were
to engage in investigation of their activities with extremely annoyed by.
suspicion or outright hostility such as the mob in The winking lights seen on approaching a barrier
Techiman. will send the driver to his dashboard to grab the
smallest sum he thinks he might be able to pay to
4.10 Trading transporting associations. the police. He will draw on lines of kinship, plead
poverty and even accuse a previous barrier of
I have met relatively few transportation collecting more than was considered ‘fair’.
associations of this nature, the GNTTTA remains one
of the few explicit associations of this type, perhaps On a car moving between Kumasi and Bolga the car
also including the Nigerian onion farmers. I rode was stopped around 30 times within the 19
hour journey.
What is clear although is that despite the separate Whether the papers are correct or not the fine
nature of the associations in actuality there are must be paid, whether to the customs official or
traders that are a part of the GPRTU and there are the police. The most farcical arrangement is of
members of the GPRTU working in trading roles the weigh stations that are infrequently scattered
so there can be no clear distinction made between alongside the road. These are to enforce the correct
the activities only that given the varying nature weight and loading of the truck. They are supposed
of relationship between the parties there are to check that the driver has not packed too much.
seemingly elastic boundaries that exist between the
scope of an associations remit. Unfortunately the driver has few ways of knowing
the weight of his truck, unless he is able to weigh
There are the powerful members within most the items individually there are no truck scales
markets and these seem also to be whomever has except at the weigh station.
become most successful at organising the trading If he gets his car weighed and is over weight then
and so acquiring more of a cut for themselves he may expect to pay around 300 cedi, the bribe in
adding to the wealth and influence of their the south is 40 and in the north 20. The system then
organisation. One might point to the GNTTTA and becomes a strange gamble with a driver believing
its supply of ‘leaders’ to the traders travelling in the his load to be particularly light perhaps risking it, in
trucks, these leaders speak the Burkina language most cases however the driver pays.
and play a central role in the negotiation of prices
particularly because of their personal relationship to The quantity of costs that are finally past onto the
the producers and the ability to patronise one over consumer in the cases of bribery are questionable, it
another. would seem that drivers and owners adjust prices to
account for most expenditure and the amounts that
I would suggest that the nature of how the owners receive is always told once the bribes are
associations conduct business is largely the cause deducted and seem consistent.
of this elastic and changing relationship. As most of If this is the case then it would certainly seem that
the calculations that allow business to commence ultimately it is those consumers that will have to
are taken inside of the head/s of whomever is shoulder the price.
in charge then the faculties of its staff mostly
determine the ability of an organisation.
This produces the mosaic of differing patterns
of relationship between groups. Each has its
unique bargaining point however the ability of the
protagonist to negotiate, bringing informational
resources to bolster material, becomes the only
determinate of the momentary fixing of influence.

14. 5.0 Transport research – esoko
What follows are summarised versions of interviews
made over the period of the study. it does not
include informal interviews nor observations made,
these have contributed to the overall conclusions
and are then part of the final analysis.
Contents of the study
5.1 Meeting with chairman of the Ghana Road 5.14 Tomato Queen, Kumasi Central Market
Transport Coordinating Council.
5.15 Peanut seller, Kumasi Central Market
5.2 Meeting with the executive of the Ghana
National Cargo Transporters Association 5.16 Meeting with Esoko/MOFA enumerator, Kumasi
Central Market
5.3 Meeting with the permanent sectary of the
Achimota charcoal yard 5.17 Corn wholesaler, Kumasi Central Market
5.4 Charcoal Truck between Accra (Kanishie) – 5.18 Provisions Truck between Kumasi – Bolgatanga
Takoradi
5.19 Meeting with the regional GPRTU branch
5.5 Yam buyers at the truck stop in Takoradi central Bolgatanga
market
5.20 Meeting with the GPRTU Branch, Bolga Market
5.6 Yam Queen, Takoradi central market Cargo Station
5.7 Tomato Queen, Takoradi central market 5.21 Meeting with the GPRTU Branch Navrongo
5.8 Deputy Onion Queen, Takoradi central market 5.22 Meeting with the Yam Sellers Association
Abobo Market, Tamale
5.9 Meeting with the Ghana Private Road
Transporters association – Sekondi/Takoradi, Cargo 5.23 Meeting with Small cargo station (Kia Station)
Branch Newtin Kolloh Abobo Market, Tamale
5.10 Meeting with the Ghana Haulage Transport 5.24 Meeting with Tamale GPRTU Heavy Trucks
Drivers Union, Takoradi/Sekondi, based at Port. Branch
5.11 Tyre Truck between Takoradi – Kumasi 5.25 Meeting with MOFA/esoko re-numerator,
Techiman Market.
5.12 Meeting with the GPRTU regional branch
Kumasi 5.26 Meeting with Techiman cargo station number
1.
5.13 Meeting with the GPRTU Cargo Station at
Banda, Race Course 5.27 Meeting with the Techiman Maize Buyers
Association

15. They are developing the new 2010 transport act.
One of the areas they will be revising is the penalty
20/04/2010 for driving offences that are being reduced by up
5.1 Meeting with chairman of the Ghana Road to 90%. They have also been organising seminars
Transport Coordinating Council. about road safety and driving courses. They want to
Matthew Hayford – Chairman introduce educational classes rather than tougher
sentences for offences on the road.
22 organisations make it up. These include unions,
associations and cooperatives.
The council is made up of various representatives 21/04/2010
from a number of organisations who are sent by 5.2 Meeting with the executive of the Ghana
there associations. National Cargo Transporters Association
Individuals form societies or groups that are then President of the association: Abdul Mohamed
organised into unions at the district and regional
levels, the regional level then forms the association In 2003 they decided to set up their own union as
that then forms a part of the council. This form is the GPRTU is also concerned with taxi’s and buses
uniform in all types of work. and so they thought that some of their concerns
The government goes to the council when they were being overlooked. Up to now they have
need to engage the transporters. Membership is approximately 2 million members including cargo
voluntary however the majority belong to one of stations, drivers, owners and other affiliates like
the associations or another. They then may receive trading groups and buyers who use the cars to
training and negotiation on their part concerning travel to the north.
rights and conditions. The council is funded from The cargo stations that are under the GNCTA
within and this is collected through dues paid by are able to run their own bylaws so long as the
the members. The government does not provide central executive grants approval. They will largely
any money. They are far less well off than the determine whether the bylaws are reasonable based
unions, which is where the money tends to stop. on their own experience of the business. Although
Membership of the association is fairly stable but a cargo station can seek to provide justification for
financial constraints mean they are unable to offer a bylaw should it fail to be passed by the executive.
the sort of services that they would wish. The The executive itself provides a common framework
government if they were considering a fuel price or constitution to all stations concerning the basic
change they would need to come to negotiate. operation of their business. This is given in the
The council based upon fuel consumption fixes all form of a charter once a cargo station has managed
the prices for trotros, combined taxi’s and buses. to form itself around the central requirements of
These fares have to keep the passengers, drivers, operation. These are largely concerning a staff and
owners and government all happy this is not easy. premise from which to operate.
They organise a wide range of issues over various Currently the executive is exploring how it could
issues such as tonnage and welfare the difficulty set up a central warehouse that would allow them
of organising over tonnage was partly caused to sell goods directly to the drivers whereas they
by individual operators working outside of the now currently buy them from many of the smaller
framework in order to secure business. He also shops. Besides this they act as a mouthpiece for the
thinks there are more trucks than there are loads. drivers and try to ensure that they get a fair deal
Formally there were few cars on the road so it was from central government. They are also there to
a safe bet. The owners tend to organise that the work on their behalf and to try and deal with some
drivers should bring a particular amount of money of their problems. One such example is that of the
every day. This is decided between the owners and axle weight issue that currently does not make
the drivers. For a cargo truck there is uncertainty provision for the larger 6 wheeler articulator trucks
over the amounts that they will make. This is not so that currently have to carry much the same weight
for the drivers of taxi’s and trotros. as the cargo double axles, this they say obviously
Tomatoes have there good and bad side, you’d need does not take account of their much larger load
to bring it within 24 hours and this can bring about bearing abilities. Over a concern such as this they
serious problems with tiredness and unreliable will basically have to inform the government of their
trucks. Also the goods need often to be loaded wish to hold a meeting and then from this they will
from maybe six areas. Its not industrial farming so proceed to negotiate the terms of the deal.
people need to go to the small areas. The trucks The general pattern of truck driving that is seen
that go up country often return with no load. Truck around the country is that of the movement of non-
ownership is generally concentrated in the south perishable goods for the south to the north in return
while the drivers tend to be from the north. The for foodstuffs such as cereals, yams, tomatoes to
carriers of foodstuff tend to be cargo trucks as they name but a few. These are then conveyed to the
need to be able to go into the smaller villages. south via Techiman and Kumasi where they are

16. often traded to buyers from the south. Being form have money to buy and that this is the case for the
the south they tend not to be able to go to the small whole system, he thinks that this has been the case
villages where the goods are cheaper, instead they for perhaps the last ten years. When he reaches
tend to congregate in the more urban markets. Takoradi he will wait between 2 and 3 weeks for
a load. This causes serious problems for him given
that his rent is around 20 cedi a month. When he is
22/04/2010 in Accra he will have to stay in his truck he will eat 2
5.3 Meeting with the permanent sectary of the cedi a day and if he eats more then he is in trouble.
Achimota charcoal yard He will probably only make 30 cedi if he makes two
trips in the month. If he can do more then he may
Charcoal selling at approximately 10 cedi per bag make up to 50 cedi. As he puts it they are suffering.
in the station goes for between 3.5 and 7 in the The prices offered to the farmers is too low and
village, the main buyers of the charcoal are the causes them to hold off from selling to the buyers
women who operate in the markets. He believes and this generally means that the produce rots in
that it is they who are making the most money the end. Once he arrives with a load then he will
in the chain, they sell the charcoal in small piles phone the buyers to say that he has reached the
as well as wholesale and this brings in the most destination and that they should come to offload
money. They have also provided loads to Europeans the car. He will also take jobs from people that
for sale on markets overseas. The ladies can buy phone him specifically to take the load somewhere,
anywhere between 3 and 100 sacks. Prices are as to where he goes he has no qualms, he will go
affected by the season as well as the fuel price that anywhere. If this leaves him somewhere that seems
the drivers have to pay. The trucks will drive out to that there will be no work then he will come back
the village but if the road is bad then they will just empty. He simply decides this based on how it looks
park nearby. The drivers are contracted by someone like things are going. This situation happens often
that phones them or comes in person to the truck and is a very bad situation. It happened to him
station. The major producing areas are those of in the last two weeks where he was stranded in
Kintampo, Attabugu and the Affram Plains. The Kumasi. He says that if you are going to the north
drivers cannot visit the small villages that produce or to somewhere that is far away then you have
some of the charcoal due to the state of the road. to consider the fact that you will not get a load to
come back with so you need to charge enough to
cover the expenses. The load going then will always
26/04/2010 be more expensive because of returning empty. He
5.4 Charcoal Truck between Accra (Kanishie) – will go to visit the cargo station in the north but
Takoradi often gets there to find that there are other trucks
Driver: Sergeant Doe waiting to pick loads, in this case he doesn’t wait he
just goes back. The price you can charge on the load
I explain that we’re trying to develop a system to depends on how big the truck is but in the end the
link them up to buyers and sellers, and he says amount given to the driver is always too low. The
to me that they don’t buy and they don’t sell. The amount paid for the load is 350, the amount to the
people will call him and then he will consult about GPRTU 35 cedi plus 10 cedi chop money, 250 will go
the price. When the price is good for him then he to the car owner, 50 cedi for fuel on the road he will
will take it. Otherwise he will go to the station have to pay the police on about 5 or 6 occasions,
where he is likely to find a load. He never drives despite this he still says that he will make between
around looking for loads, he will visit the cargo 20 and 30 cedi. The maths obviously doesn’t add up.
station and some times people will just turn up He says that if he gets a job through a private phone
with a truck and say that they need a driver. When call then he will take the cargo station’s 10% and
the truck reaches the destination then they will put it in his pocket, if he’s been waiting in the cargo
get paid. He doesn’t get enough work to do at the station then he will give them something small for
moment the last two weeks he was waiting for a sitting there this amount can be between 10 or 20
job. The truck he’s driving at the moment he has cedi.
been driving for 4 years. There are plenty of drivers
who need more work also. In the past he used
to only wait 3 days for a job and in a week could 27/04/2010
sometimes drive between 4 and 6 times in a week. 5.5 Yam buyers at the truck stop in Takoradi central
He says that during those times he would have to market
turn jobs down because they would ask them to
turn around and drive straight back. He blames the The truck arrives at 7 to begin offloading, this can’t
current state of affairs on the economic decline begin until the person that has brought the yam
and the quantity of taxes that people need to pay arrives, the yam is loaded into the front of the truck
on the goods. He thinks that the traders don’t and so it needs to come out before the major stock

17. of charcoal can be reached. The yam buyers are in the south are aware of the load in the north they
already waiting for the load although it seems they will still not travel unless they have a load to take
are still holding yam from the other day that they north. The queen would like the government to
have failed to sell, although they say they might be provide the trucks. In the past they did this and it
able to move a whole cartload in a day. They add meant that the trucks would always be moving,
that they may also fail to sell a single yam in a day.
They say that the yams if they are good can last for
a very long time, one says that this can be as long 27/04/2010
as a year but I think that he means if it is left in the 5.7 Tomato Queen, Takoradi central market
soil. They certainly agree that they can do at least Queen: Sarah Kofi
a week if they are in good condition. When the lady
arrives a little later they get around to offloading Sarah used to buy the tomatoes from Burkina and
the car. Although one loader comes forward it still does when the season is right she complains
seems it is not his car and another after a slight the people in Navrongo now tax the trucks that
altercation comes forward to take the load. The yam move through their town carrying tomatoes (there
queen is not around but one of her advisors is there had been riots about the trucks passing through the
to see the offloading. tomato growing region). This taxation has caused
the price of tomatoes to rise and she blames it for
the large amount of waste that the trade produces.
27/04/2010 The tomato growing season runs between May
5.6 Yam Queen, Takoradi central market and December in Ghana but despite this she would
Queen: Efua Adjama, Elder: Mercy Ajei prefer to buy from Burkina where the tomatoes are
of a variety that keeps better and they are generally
When they go to the north to bring the yam it is the cheaper. Formally they would pay the driver per
women that go with the trucks. There is sometimes box however due to the frequency with which
some small spoilage and some of the yam is kept they are unable to fill the whole truck the drivers
badly so it spoils. She points to a great pile of yam have changed to charging for the whole truck. The
that seems to be growing trees, this has spoiled and difficulty with filling the truck is due to the farming
although they can chop the growth off the yam will communities being spread far and wide, they are
not be easy to sell. It was because they were unable also on such a scale that you cannot go to one
to get the car early that this has happened. Because community and expect to fill the whole truck. This
they tend to travel by public bus they are not at the is also because they are not always aware that the
farm site with the yam instead they need to gather truck will be coming so they are not ready. Early
the yam together and then find transport this can rains can easily cause the tomatoes to fail to ripen.
be difficult in the north particularly to bring it as far Because of the price people do not buy tomato like
south as Takoradi. She says that sometimes they they used to. The canned paste has become more
have to beg the transporters to come and then even popular and many people choose to buy this rather
then they can charge pretty much whatever they than the fresh produce, at the moment they are also
want. Apparently the drivers blame the high cost short of cash so buy little. The price in Burkina at
of fuel, mechanics and spares. The cars far prefer the moment is around 40,000 cfa per box.
to go to Accra so they often take the yam to Accra
where it is traded and then sold again to the women
creating a high cost by the time it reaches Takoradi. 27/04/2010
The cars that carry goods to the north from Takoradi 5.8 Deputy Onion Queen, Takoradi central market
tend to be articulators so they are unable to visit Deputy: Mary Nuamah
the villages where the yams are found, because of
this they have to wait for a cargo truck that does Mary buys two types of onion, being the Nigerian
not travel frequently from Takoradi to such places. onion that is either yellow or red and then the
While they had used to take the transportation on Bwaku red onion. The Nigerian onion is the best and
credit from the north the drivers do not much like can be used for all purposes the Bwaku red onion
this practice as they do not know the ladies from is generally used for stews and shito. The Nigerian
the south and don’t trust that they will get back the onions are sold by men from Niger who live at the
money they initially spend. They don’t use specific market here in Ghana. The only other form of supply
drivers due to the fact that they equally don’t is from those small producers that bring the onions
know them and so just take the first available car. to sell at the market from their farms. She says that
Sometimes they have waited for a full month to the reason that the Nigerian men have a hold over
take a car back to the south. At this point they are the market is due to the distance involved in the
wiling to pay almost anything because they’ve not journey and the fact that there are few Ghanaians
been back for a month and the longer they stay the who know Niger to be able to visit the farms. The
more money they wind up spending. If the trucks Nigerians will only sell wholesale to other Nigerians

18. and in this way they continue to dominate the interior so Takoradi has a reasonably high price
market. The onions that they produce can be kept when compared with other places. Those women
for nearly a year and she has storerooms to this that say the transportation price is the reason for
effect. Even kept in the open air they last well. the high transportation prices is the reason are
The Nigerians decide the price and they will sell lying. They say that they are going to buy for cheap,
to anyone that wants to buy the onions but only however they do agree that the price of bringing
at the rates they offer to outsiders of the Nigerian things from the north is high. They say that this
circle. Currently the old queen has died so there is is only the case for the perishable goods, for non-
disorder among the onion sellers, she says that they perishables this is not the case. The price changes
need to elect a new queen soon as they are getting when they increase the price of fuel, the prices are
bad prices from the Nigerian men. She says that if still negotiable. The work has reduced and they
they are able to mobilise themselves then they will blame the world crash, people have also jumped
be able to get better prices from the traders. As it into the business looking for money. Besides this
is she takes a car to Accra once every two weeks the storeowners have brought their own cars and
so that she can buy from the markets there. A sack now pick their own things. The union wants to
that costs 80 cedi at Accra sells for 1.3 when they challenge the company so that they are able to take
get it to Takoradi so she buys a trotro worth and away some of the companies business. This they
then brings them. She is one of the few that can hope would provide the drivers with more work to
afford to do this however and although she used to do. The company’s price is already higher than their
go in on the trip with some of the other traders she own. They are taking away quite a bit of the work.
now only does it for herself. The other traders were They argue that the unions serve the government
not consistent in their paying her back so she had to more than the companies who do not have the same
stop. relationship with the government. They have most
of the Coco transportation this is also because many
of those who sit on the Coco Board have interests
28/04/2010 in the trucking companies. They only come to the
5.9 Meeting with the Ghana Private Road unions when they are short of trucks. To increase
Transporters association – Sekondi/Takoradi, Cargo the amount of work will depend on the government
Branch Newtin Kolloh they need to reduce the prices, (Taxes?). If they
Chairman: David Apau need tomatoes then it is hard to find in Takoradi
because of the distance and the length of time it
The Chairman of the cargo branch says that in the takes to load the car. It takes three days to load
western region this is the largest cargo station. the truck because the tomatoes are not in the
They used to be separate from the haulage same place; it takes a while of driving around in
union but after some time they decided that the the bush to get hold of the amount you need to fill
challenge between them was causing problems. a car. The yam, cassava, mangos and watermelons
The two unions merged and made the Haulage are those that are far away. Although the GNCTA
union chairman the head and them him the deputy. are technically a separate union they have an
Then they made his deputy the 1st trustee and agreement that they will work collaboratively to
then the Haulage’s vice the 2nd trustee. Now they ensure that if a car is spoilt then they will send
then wanted to operate at the port so made an another car to collect the goods depending on
application to the port authority that provided whether its closer to one station or another. Most
them a license. Now then all the cargo must pass of the jobs they get are from people who have
through them unless they are a company, as they heard about them through the FM stations and also
have no power over the company cars. There are by coming to the station. The porters that work
as many as 40 company cars that they use, while in the major offloading stations are a source of
the union truck number 141 trucks. There are 10 plenty of the information about where loads can be
or 20 companies that are registered with the port. found. The station agents fix the price and this was
Of the dues that are collected by the unions 1 third something that was agreed by the drivers and the
goes to each of the bodies, the two separate unions station. Some goods also have a fixed price. If the
and then the conjoined. He will spend perhaps two goods are not one for that they have a price that’s
hours at the cargo station before going to the joint fixed then they will negotiate with the customer.
office at the port. The port is basically the main The union here has 45 members who will vote for
provider of jobs in the area. Fish comes from the the chairmen, vice chairmen and other executive
Tema fishing harbour rather than in Takoradi. There members; they are then installed for 4 years before
are a couple of factories that produce plywood and they can be voted out. They help their members in
these products go to Mali and other surrounding weddings, deaths and sickness. At the moment the
countries. There is also coconut that they take to work is not so good but in the past they used to
Nigeria. They will also bring Kola nut and Coco to provide Christmas bonuses, they could do more but
the port. Food needs to generally come from the at the moment there is not enough work. In terms

19. of the loads they are responsible to check that the drivers are given a slip of paper that details the
load is as they have said it would be, as such they job while the union keeps a receipt of the job.
need to write out a list of the goods carried so they The registration process requires that the drivers
are aware of every item that has gone into the and owners provide information concerning their
truck. If you were to bring a load of rotten tomatoes address, their phone numbers, legal documents
then they would take the tomatoes, it is the concern and other information. In this way the union can
of the person that brings the thing. However they be responsible for any goods they transport. They
have to arrive in the length of time that they have are in fairly regular contact with the other stations
said they will take. If they have said that they will around the country, they have meetings during the
arrive in one day then they will have to arrive in year but besides that the chairmen have some more
that time or they will face financial problems. The regular contact with the stations that are nearby.
owner that travels with the vehicle is generally the The private trucking companies are not very serious
one that comes with the truck so they check the competition however they do transport most of
nature of the goods. ‘419’ is the name given to fraud the goods needed by the Ghana Coco Board. They
and also that people will sometimes phone them to still use boards in the offices to organise the order
ask them to come and then they will not actually in that the drivers will leave. The porters in the
need anyone to come, they do it just to spoil the port will alert the union to the jobs, as they will
business. The chairman then describes going to the be made aware of a container being opened. And
station and picking a guy who goes to a factory then then send word to the union to ready a truck. They
says his money is short and that he will add the are also well organised and have their own unions
money to the transport money, he then goes into and headmen that organise them and liaise with
the factory and disappears. the trucking unions. The port is basically the only
gig in town although there are some loads that are
organised by traders at the market the vast majority
28/04/2010 of work is at the town. He denies the words of
5.10 Meeting with the Ghana Haulage Transport the market women that suggested that they were
Drivers Union, Takoradi/Sekondi, based at Port. charging too much to head to the north and says
Chairman: Godfrey Offeh that they are always cheating. He says that the fuel
costs are the most serious problem faced by the
They are in the business of goods and services; drivers.
this mostly includes the exporting goods via
articulator to the hinterland. There are very few
non-perishable goods that they take North however 28/04/2010
they will transport a few perishables such as 5.11 Tyre Truck between Takoradi – Kumasi
mango’s and coco. They will go as far as Burkina Driver: Akobam
Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria. The articulator union
(GHTDU) was totally separate from the GPRTU The time of the trucks departure is never made
prior 2003 when the two unions merged. He says very clear, I sit for four or five hours and eventually
of the GNCTA; they wanted to have their own union there is a sudden phone call and I head to the port.
so the others said ok, they don’t run competing The truck has been loaded with second-hand tyres
stations and where they have their own stations from Germany to the point where it is flagrantly
the other organisation respects their territory. The overweight the driver complains that the load is too
merging of the two local unions being the haulage much for his engine but he and the owners of the
and cargo workers happened because the two tyres are in no doubt that they will proceed anyway.
chairmen could see that they were in competition The car is leaving Takoradi at about 5pm, the union
with one another and wanted to stop the conflict. men had been waiting to see if they would clear the
Now the two chairmen have an office at their port today they tell me that you can never be sure
respective stations where they spend the morning, if they will actually make it out from the customs
come the afternoon they go to a shared office at and the port authority. The two owners of the
the port where they organise most of the loads. tyres are riding in the car also making it five of us
The porters also have merged from supplying the with the mate. The journey between Takoradi and
separate unions to working for the two. These Kumasi requires driving back along the coast as far
mergers are agreed through the various elders or as Cape Coast before the truck is able to turn north
executive bodies of the organisations. The port and begin to make headway in the right direction.
has recently provided the unions with the right to Along this route there are some police to bribe
allocate the vehicles for the port, previously there but only two barriers that offer little hindrance.
were trucks milling around and going wherever The driver tells me that he drives an articulator
but nowadays they are only coming into the port because they are better than the small trucks. He
once they’ve been given a particular job. This is says you can make more money and faster. This
recorded by a computer but also on paper, the is only done I believe through operating the port

20. however as he admits that he doubts that he will be found they are also collecting things from the
find a load in Kumasi. The articulators cannot move Northern part of the Ashanti region. As an industrial
to the smaller stations for the cargo and to fill an relations officer he has close dealing with the food,
articulator requires a lot of goods that are not easily corn, tomato sellers as well as the wood-cutters.
found outside of agricultural products that tend to They also deal closely with the central market
be coming from the north. He will most likely return associations that buy much of the food items.
to Takoradi empty to begin looking for another
load form the port. The tyre owners say that there
are many such goods and container trucks moving 29/04/2010
to Kumasi because they don’t have a port there so 5.13 Meeting with the GPRTU Cargo Station at
cannot find easy access to second hand goods. The Banda, Race Course
journey is broken around Cape Coast and from there Station Master: Able
it is a straight drive to Kumasi, there are some quite
serious hills on the route and the truck struggles This station is only for cargo; all of the members
and makes unpleasant noises as we slowly grace of his station will come to him for loads it is only
the tops to then have to apply the break in hefty around Christmas that they are able to find private
terms to avoid a mad scramble to the bottom. They loads. If they are registered at this station they
tell me that although bandits where known to may still get loads from other stations however this
operate in the hills around here that has not been will only be if the other station is short of trucks.
the case for some time. When we close in on Kumasi Most of the year the trucks that leave here to the
it turns out the truck will be delivering straight North will come back empty, the weight they carry
to the house if the tyre owner. This makes for a depends of the load and the truck they are using.
strange passage deep into suburbia at around 3am This affects the cost of fuel as well, to drive to Bolga
in our enormous articulated lorry. Upon arriving the empty will cost about 300 cedi for the fuel. To do it
driver strips naked in the road and washes from a with a load will cost 1500 cedi to Bolga of this 150
bucket of water and so me and the mate join him cedi goes to the station, fuel costs around 600 to
before the mate and I retire to the cab while the 700 cedi when the truck is loaded. In the end the
driver sleeps under the truck on his comfy chair driver is in possession of approximately 300 cedi if
with mosquito net. We on the other hand spend the they have had to return empty. Every three trips it
night attacking tiny high-pitched drones that hover is necessary to change the oil or risk causing more
around our ears. The next morning some people serious problems. Maintenance besides this may
have arrived apparently known to the tyre owner also be required frequently. Able thinks that most
and the unpacking begins. Once finished the driver trucks are probably only making a couple of trips a
will turn around and return. month. This station only runs between here and the
North. Mostly this is to Bwaku, Wa or Bolgatanga.
The difference between the weight of particular
29/04/2010 goods is important to the fuel consumption the
5.12 Meeting with the GPRTU regional branch weight of cattle is around 13 tonnes while yam
Kumasi will weigh in at around 35 tonnes. The months of
Head of Industrial Relations: Rev. Ellis Owusu- June, July and August are slow months but overall
Ansah he thinks that the amount of work has increased
over the last five years. They sometimes supply to
The branch is the regional head office of the GPRTU, the companies but only if they’ve run out of trucks
in the region they have 20 branches and then that are not too regular, the station on the whole is
around 120 locals, every village in Ashanti region well run and they have access to plenty of trucks.
has a station although all drivers will pass through They use waybills to record the journeys and to act
Kumasi. In Kumasi there are 5 or 6 lorry parks as insurance against police harassment. They used
that cater for the trucks. They are not all for cargo radio adverts to promote their station and are also
however they are also dealing with the passenger advertising to store owners in Adom to get better
trucks. In Kumasi some of the markets are Asaf business. They feel that there is very little pressure
Market, Race Course Station, Bantama Station, from the companies. In the case of the load being
New Tafo, Morrow Market, Asamwasi. There are incorrect then he tells me that the owner should
some stations that only deal with passengers as pay two thirds of the cost of the good and then the
some equally only deal with perishable goods. The station will pay one third of the cost. He says that
constitution that they have is for the whole union they have no way of enforcing this however so it
they have a national and regional executive, they is up to the good will of the owner or his wish to
meet at the Ashanti branch to have the regional retain good relations. Yam is the only good that
meetings however the branches are all permitted to can be sold on credit the others must all be paid
make their own bylaws. The north of Race Course for up front. Saying this it is possible that over long
is where perishables and non-perishables can periods of time (he suggests 5 years) they may

21. begin to trust each other and allow one another to open to outsiders. They use loans from the bank to
buy on credit. increase the amount they can buy however these
tend to be difficult to get and can be expensive. A
bag of peanut costs about 140 cedi and you can get
30/04/2010 about 50 bags in a truck. She says that although
5.14 Tomato Queen, Kumasi Central Market she buys from the middle women and men at the
Queen: Serwa Badu small markets that this is because she does not
know the farmers and is a stranger to them. She
The market queens of the Kumasi area are able to says that they do not speak twii and so she cannot
come together very easily to discuss the nature communicate with them to buy the goods. She says
of their business. The union of buyers that she that she knows that the price from the farmers for
is a part of includes the Accra markets, those of a bag is about 100 cedi and that rises to 120 in the
the Cape Coast, Takoradi and many of the smaller markets she buys from, finally becoming 140 cedi
places in the area. All of the tomato trucks are by the time she sells it but this is the way. She is
assigned to the markets depending on the level however interested when shown the esoko system
of demand at the market. For Kumasi there are 8 and says that she wants to know how it works. She
trucks assigned, for Accra 10, but most markets will says the price she pays is mostly affected by the
have only one, Takoradi has 5 as an example of a season rather than other factors.
smaller city. This union meets perhaps four times a
year to discuss some of these issues however they
talk more regularly than that. They also meet with 30/04/2010
the truck drivers to discuss the work. For every 5.16 Meeting with Esoko/MOFA enumerator, Kumasi
market the truck works continuously going back Central Market
and forth to bring the tomatoes. Who is necessarily Piianim Frimpong
paying for the tomatoes is not clear and it seems
as if different collections of the women may go at Piianim was working for MOFA before coming over
any given trip. If 8 women in the Kumasi market to work for esoko also the information that he
are to come together to bring a batch of tomatoes provides for MOFA is the same as what he does for
then two will travel with the truck while the others MOFA so it makes sense for him do provide it for
stay at the market. All in all they have 40 trucks both. He says of prices that the rainy season has
moving continuously to collect the tomatoes for been all over the place so they have had a difficult
the southern grouping of women. She herself is time keeping an eye on the prices. Last year the
also in charge of all the tomatoes in Kumasi. She early rains produced a bumper harvest that means
says that the trucks must be fast as the tomatoes they are able to get a lot of foreign currency. The
spoil after little time. They don’t last beyond 5 – 6 various associations in the market (Kumasi Central)
days after which time they are rotten. They know decide the prices, for onions the Nigerians at the
the smaller cars that go to the various places but Race Course sell at the lowest prices but then
determine where each truck will go specifically they also control the onion business. At Central
individually each time they go. The trucks work all Market they cost 100 cedi a bag at the Race
year round only changing the places that they go. Course they cost 95 cedi. He says that the onion
If the drivers fail to deliver the tomatoes properly market is controlled not just by the Northerners
then they punish the drivers by taking them to the monopoly but that if a truck operates outside of
union (that’s is the GPRTU). The market women are the monopoly then it will not reach the market “it
alerted by agents in the north who tell them when will fall over”. Tomatoes are being brought in by
the tomatoes are ready to be picked up. She decides the Akudama people who bring the tomatoes from
the prices for all tomatoes in the Kumasi central Akobo, tomatoes are abundant at the moment
market. however that does not mean there is any benefit
for the farmers. A while ago the tomato queen was
buying from whom ever would sell at the cheapest
30/04/2010 price. This was causing a lot of impoverishment to
5.15 Peanut seller, Kumasi Central Market the communities so they had a meeting with the
Afia Yeboah queen’s and got them to agree to rotate between
villages. Buying all the tomatoes from one place
She will usually buy between 10 or 20 bags at a when they have their harvest and then moving on to
time and this sort of quantity will mean that about the next place to do the same there. At least in this
5 women will need to club together to fill the truck. way the farmers get a better deal for the tomatoes.
Sometimes it is the case that people from the north The queens also provide money to the farmers to
bring peanuts to them in which case they will buy grow the tomatoes in the first place that can be very
from them. They do not have the same system as useful to the farmers. He says that he’s being doing
the tomato sellers in the sense their market is more business with esoko but its not been the other way

22. around, he complains that he was not paid until the 30 times and the amount they pay in bribes is more
25th of the previous month I being due on the first, than one hundred Ghana cedi. They refer to the
this he said did not happen under ‘Tradenet’ and police as dogs, bastards, bitches, thieves, criminals
complains that he doesn’t know the esoko people. and gangsters among other expletives. The driver
He would like there to be a meeting so that they every time he re-enters the car is fuming. All the
could know one another and also some training on money lost will come ultimately from the owners’
the new system that he says he was able to work pocket but will affect the amount of money that
but that some of his colleagues have had trouble the owner will cut the driver in for. The issues with
with using the new interface. weighing are absurd, the driver when loading their
trucks have no access to scales, the only scales
are held by the weighing stations. If they enter a
30/04/2010 weighing station and are over weight then they
5.17 Corn wholesaler, Kumasi Central Market will be taken to court and will stand to loose 300
Mohammad cedi. Standing outside the station for 10 minutes
we saw about four drivers or mates go running to
Mohammad inherited his business from his father the station. They explained to me that unless you
but says that he was the first to move outside the feel that your load is particularly light they dare not
country in search of grain. He says that it was the risk to enter the weigh station, it is better to pay
increase in population but also the rising prices the 40 cedi than to risk the far higher fee. The only
on the domestic market that encouraged him to way around this circumstance is to install weighing
do this. In order that he should be able trade with machines at the station that would need to be paid
the peoples of Mali or Burkina he had to learn the from their own station dues.
language and so he speaks French and Hausa. He The drive is interrupted by an early issue with the
has built up his contacts over the last ten years and clutch or brakes overheating, a 15-minute stop
they are very important to him. Each trader has the and some fast action with a spanner loosens the
particular people that they work with and contacts parts suitably for us to continue. We drive at night
are vital to the success or failure of a business. He because the weather is cooler, setting off at 4 in
travels up to Mali by public transport and then will the afternoon. We wait firstly for the money to
travel between the farms collecting the suitable be delivered by the banks so that the fuel can be
amount of goods. Once he has found enough then brought. Much of this transport was organised on
he usually has to wait for a cargo car that has come credit in the sense that money will be collected on
up from Accra or Tema Ports to take the goods back delivery. Some of the items are paid for however
to Kumasi. This sometimes takes as long as two so the buyers at least have a stake in the delivery.
weeks but not often. He can usually rely on being on The forms are organised by Able the station agent,
the road within one. he runs one of the busiest stations in ‘Race Course’
organising somewhere between two and six trucks
per day. This has made him and the drivers quite
03/05/2010 - 05/05/2010 successful. He provides them with waybills that
5.18 Provisions Truck between Kumasi – Bolgatanga are provided to any police office or custom official
Driver: Thomas, Mate: Karium, Car Boy: Kojo that cares to request them. When sometimes they
offer only a cedi to an officer the immediate call
This drive left me with a burning anger directed at for “papers!” is heard. Sometimes they go as far as
the police, carrying provisions such as car parts, peeking into the back of the truck to see if we were
foodstuffs and other assorted items our driver, on foolish enough to leave all the cocaine in one, large,
the road for 19 hours straight worked a full day easily discernable pile.
on both sides of the drive. He will be awake for The Police carry out a necessary service despite
37 hours in all before resting until 5am and then their corruption, the armed gangs that ply these
making a few more drops in the Zebillia area. These routes are active nightly and the driver was
drops he makes in the Zebilla area are jobs that adamant that upon reaching Kintampo at 2am we
he is contracted for privately or through the cargo would not leave until 2:40am the reason being that
station but without the specific knowledge of the the gangs will generally melt back into the bush
owner. It is this money that allows the drivers to before day break. That night there had already
continue to eat despite the seemingly impossible been reports of an attack on the road coming into
mathematics of their pay. When on the road we Techiman, we had passed earlier. The gangs are
experience approximately 8 or 9 unofficial police reported by the drivers by mobile to their station
blocks, 8 official barriers, 6 custom stations, 5 masters who in turn pass it around. Because there
tollbooths and two weighing stations. Over these are only certain stations that deal with the trip
stops the driver pays an average of two cedi except going to the north and specifically the Upper East
for the weighing stations that charge 40 cedi in the then they are able to do this. The station agent
south and 20 in the north. In all they are stopped seemed to be nearly always available no matter

23. what time of the night. The drivers had previously with the different vehicles is not so easy. He has
mentioned that he was particularly good so whether people over here to do business, perhaps he can
this was behaviour beyond that of the common fill three to four buses in a day however the cargo
master I can’t say at this stage. is harder to find the loads for. There are only the
When we left the station it turned out that getting millet market and the groundnut market where a
to the fuelling station the driver had left his phone single buyer can buy a full truck, this is the same
charging at the station. This meant that we could for the cattle and for onions also. He says that this
not leave as all of his drops will be either organised is the only comparable business between the cargo
by having the phone numbers of those that he and the buses. The onion and the cattle market
needs to deliver to or the place is so small that the is biggest in Garu and the onions are to be found
name is enough (Walewale). At the station the fuel in Zebilla. The loads come from inside the market
to the north cost 270 cedi however the driver said is they are foodstuff otherwise provisions are
that the trip to Bolgatanga costs three hundred. found within the station itself. The cargo chairman
They had about 4 inches in the tank when we operates form within the market and is responsible
arrived. for all of the goods within the market. They may
The driver on the road knows many of the cars that load a Kia truck if they are unable to find enough
we passed other drivers of trucks would wave and to fill a cargo car. Any truck from any station will
the same can be said of the buses and trotros. It be used for a load. There are people who act as
seems that they are a relatively small group. The agents or chairmen for the various commodities.
unpacking of the goods is the responsibility of the Each is responsible for their particular area and
owners and they are assisted by other drivers and will organise the trucks accordingly. They are able
mates in the vicinity. They scramble all over the to use any of the trucks that are in the stations.
truck and throw the goods from person to pile. The There is one list for all of the trucks that is used
Mate of the vehicle who is also the brother to the by all of the trucks and compiled by the regional
car owner told me that the other day they were sectary. All the trucks park at the centeral station
stuck just outside Bolgatanga because the starter as there are no parking spaces in the other markets.
motor in the engine failed, they were unable to find The cargo station is the busiest of the markets. He
enough people to push the truck because it was full says that the provisions market has not currently
of goods an therefore very heavy. They were able to loaded for the last two days. He say that this is
find a mechanic the next day, who was able to fix not the case for the cargo market where they have
the problem. loading perhaps twice a day. September through
When we were able to discuss the findings of the to March experiences a busier period as there is
study so far he thought that the premise of the first the Christmas rush and then later the selling
esoko system was good and agreed that more of cattle and livestock. After March things become
certainty over loads would certainly reduce the quiet again. When there are few cars in the station
amount that he charges for a load. We also agreed there are perhaps only 10 cars in the station. When
that the SOS service could be improved by involving busy there may be around 40 cars in the station, the
stations on the road. He said that the amounts that cattle markets can load maybe 3 cars in a day, the
the drivers pay them is too small and that they sheep and goats can be another 4 cars in a day. The
are also sometimes very particular about where beans market can load perhaps 6-7 cars in a day.
maintenance is done to the point that the drivers in the basket market they can load maybe 2 cars
may be forced to drive the car despite the fact that in a day. Overall they tend to send maybe 20+ in a
its clearly spoilt. As it turned out later the small day. At the moment after January there are more
pay they receives also crates a situation where trucks coming from the south this is diminished or
the driver is forced to look for his own personal grows depending on the amounts of money that
work in order to make extra money. It seems that people have available to spend. The waybills offer
the practice of doing this is very common. It was one of the most obvious forms of information that
actually in conversation with a police officer that I is held on the driver. Each day those with loads
first heard that this might be the case. need to come to collect a waybill. This waybill will
declare the drivers name and the owners as well
as the cargo that they are carrying. Every quarter
06/05/2010 they have a review meeting. These waybills will
5.19 Meeting with the regional GPRTU branch provide them the information in order that they can
Bolgatanga oversee the actions. The branches buy the waybills
Regional Chairman: Godfred Abulbire from the regional office. The regional office does
not actually know where the goods are going. That
Godfred Abulbire has been the chairman since 2003, the branch chairman holds information, the regional
he was a trotro branch chaiman boss previous to office might technically control them however
this. The regional boss is incharge of all the vehicles they are only periodically coming to check-up on
that operate from the station. He says that dealing the work of the branch chairman. They collect a

24. development levy that is paid to the office. They
expect that the money will be used to build office
space as well as to deliver information to the drivers 06/05/2010
such as notice as to the rise in toll charges. Besides 5.20 Meeting with the GPRTU Branch, Bolga Market
this they also have a welfare fund, but these funds Cargo Station
are generally held by the branch chairman rather Chairman: Zack
than at the regional level. Before he became the
chairman there were about 95% of members that Zack says that the prices of goods are heavily
were illiterate. This made understanding the law, dependent on where they are supposed to be
understanding waybills and other exercises a bit going. He says that a bag of goods going to Tema
difficult. The old practice of working regardless of costs 8 cedi, to Accra 6 cedi and Kumasi 5 cedi. He
the law was still in the drivers. They held periodic says that they load no trucks going to the North
meetings to try and change attitudes towards this as most of what is found in the Bolgatanga is also
as well as deciding that there should be at least found further north. The trucks that go this way are
2 literates within the 5 executive members of the mostly coming form the ports with goods that they
station. He says that the problem of weight was are unable to get from their own regions. He says
not a problem to do with the lack of scales. He says buyers of the goods that they sell in the market are
that previous to the introduction of the scales the always from the south, from Techiman, Kumasi and
drivers knew if they were in or under weight. He Accra general but that the producers are always
says the problem is attitude. He says that if a driver from the north. In order to find the loads for the
knows that he is supposed to load 400-500 bags in buyers Zack will either be selling goods that are
his truck then they will want to take 600, for the delivered to the market otherwise he will rely on the
extra money from the bags. He says that this is the producers phoning him to tell him that the goods
same for the Yutong buses that are supposed to be are ready for collection. In this case he will provide
only taking 49 people and yet they continue to add the trucks and link them to the buyers. He has
more people. The chairman made an address to the perhaps 30+ people that phone him ahead of time
local branches concerning the nature of overloading to tell him that they have goods ready for collection
and that encouraging the drivers to obey the rules on the eve of a market day. This knowledge he will
requires that they try to explain that the actions then use to organise the collection of loads from
that they are taking may be having some very the villages. He thinks that across 30+ people
adverse effects such as destroying the road surface. phoning he will organise perhaps 6 or 7 loads.
He says that rather than blaming the politicians They are mostly in the business of transporting
they should be aware that the road has a life span maize, groundnut, beans, rice and millet. They will
like anything and that if they are not careful they calculate the loads that the producers have based
will destroy it. You need to demonstrate the reasons on the figures that they are given however these
why they should follow the law; otherwise they are sometimes inaccurate leading to a vehicle
move towards arresting the drivers that break the travelling with less than a full load of cargo. The
law. He says that this is necessary and that they Chairman will often send a junior brother to
have even advertised their numbers on the radio accompany the car to the rural markets. These cars
so that people can report them if they overload the face a problem, as when the market people see the
bus. He says that they need the drivers to behave car they will be keen to bag a place in it. This often
better as it improves their ability to negotiate leads to them attesting to a quantity of bags that
with government. The amount of work has not they don’t actually have as they then proceed to
necessarily increased or decreased, they have attempt to buy them from the market. These causes
more trucks than they used to have and more cars problems over the length of time needed to load
as well, they used to have only three stations for the vehicle but also arguments between the traders
Kumasi but now they have 12 all competing for concerning the right to load. The small cars are not
the work. They have not thought it necessary for enough at the market for the loads that they are
them to advertise on the radio he says that the needed to carry however there are more of them
GNCTA does this because they are a splinter group spread among the villages that service the smaller
that defected from the GPRTU after the chairman villages such as Walewale and Labasso. They spend
made a gaffe on the radio and said that he was not most of their time organising trucks to go to Accra
responsible for the cargo trucks. They are however as the most popular destination at the moment; he
very small and only really exist in Accra. They will says that they send nearly a truck every day. Now is
still work with the GPRTU however and they share the down season however and it’s much busy later
trucks and resources. Of the system he said that on. With the seasons and the changing years work
he was interested and could see the potential of has always been up and down. The biggest problem
reducing the empty journeys that are made by the they face is the customs and the police who often
drivers. tax them heavier than is fair or even profitable
to the cargo owners from whom the money is