Tema Free Zones Enclave: Workers demand removal of the toll booth
- The workers say it feels like they are being charged to enter their place of work
- They have therefore demanded that the toll booth be removed to make life easier for them
- Michael Okyere Baafi, former Chief Executive Officer of the Free Zones Authority says the booth is needed to support the enclave
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Individuals who work in the Tema Free Zones Enclave have called on the government to scrap the toll booth because of its inconvenience.
People who ply their trade in the community often have to pay an amount whenever they enter the enclave to work depending on the type of vehicle they arrive in.
The enclave is home to manufacturing, service provision, and export companies, which employ thousands of workers.
Source: UGC
"I don't see the need for a toll booth. Many of us already pay tolls before we get here so there's no need to pay again before we enter the enclave," said Frank Odoi, a transport operator to Citi News.
"You have to pay toll when you are coming from Afienya, you have to pay toll when you are coming from Accra. When you get inside the enclave, you have to pay the toll again. It's painful. There used to be a shortcut from Kpone but it has been blocked because of the money they want to collect."
Some people likened it to a case of being asked to pay to enter one's place of work.
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Michael Okyere Baafi, a former Chief Executive Officer of the Free Zones Authority who currently the deputy minister of Trade and Industry has defended the essence of the tolls.
"Now apart from the fact that we have increased the security in the enclave, we have also spoken to the Ghana Armed Forces to also beef up security in the enclave. All these things we have to use money to provide service," explained Baafi to Citi News.
"And that's why we say we cannot operate in a big enclave like that which is a strictly private entity which is financed and maintained by the Ghana Free Zones authority so clearly, we have to generate money to maintain the roads, to take care of other user facilities in the enclave."
Watch workers share why the Tema Free Zones enclave toll booth should be removed below.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta has stated that even before the coronavirus pandemic struck. Ghana already had a resilient economy.
According to him, the government built a resilient economy before the country was hit by the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
