Pension Fund to be established for Drivers

Accra, June 13, GNA-The Ministry Transport would soon establish a Pension Fund to cushion drivers during their retirement, Mrs. Dzifa Aku Attivor, Deputy Minister of Transport, disclosed on Saturday. Mrs. Attivor, who made the disclosure after paying surprise visits to the stations of the Accra-Hohoe-Ho Co-operative Transport and the Accra-Ho Ghana Private Road Transport Unions, at Novotel and Old Tema Station respectively, said after meeting stakeholders in the Transport industry, the Ministry would set up the fund. She, therefore, urged drivers to embrace it, so that their future would be well catered for.

Mrs. Attivor asked executives of the unions to contact the National Road safety Commission for log books, to ensure that drivers plied the roads within the stipulated hours to help reduce carnage on the roads.

The Deputy Minister stated that drivers should do the right thing, and asked leaders of the various transport unions to ensure that recalcitrant drivers who disobeyed traffic regulations were properly disciplined or sanctioned, to serve as deterrent to others. She asked the executives to explain government's programmes and policies to their members, adding, "help us to build the better Ghana we promised Ghanaians."

On the recent increase in the prices of petroleum products, Mrs Attivor asked Ghanaians to bear with the government of the National Democratic Congress, assuring that subsidies on fuel would be utilized to provide majority of the people with potable water, schools and hospitals to help improve their standards of living. Mr Walter Bankas, a founding member of the Accra-Hohoe-Ho Co-operative Transport Union, assured the Deputy Minister that members would strictly adhere to the directive to charge approved fares. Mr Kwasi Fleku, member of the Accra-Ho GPRTU suggested to the Ministry of Transport to ensure the construction of standard speed ramps on the roads, to help prolong the life span of vehicles. 1