Accra, Aug. 4, GNA=96Driveco Ghana Limited, Commercial Drivers' Welf= are Company, on Thursday outdoored 140 Brilliance Saloon Cars for its members i= n Accra.

The company was established three years ago, to support drivers to liv= e meaningfully after retirement through daily contribution of one Ghana cedi per member.

Mr Wilberforce Essuman, Chief Executive Officer of Driveco Ghana Limited, said the car cost 50,000 Ghana cedis and a beneficiary deposits between GHC1,000 and GHC5,000 to pay the full cost within five and eight years.

He said the outdooring was one of the numerous interventions for its members, and though had been in existence for only three years, the company had impacted positively on the lives of many commercial drivers.

Mr Essuman announced that management would soon introduce a free education programme for children of members, pay their rent and register them with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

"It is an undeniable fact that, most commercial drivers operate for several decades but cannot identify the nut of a vehicle. They work for transport owners until retirement without anything to show for their services."

"It is to address such a situation that management has instituted a policy to ensure that every driver in the country could own a car during hi= s lifetime," he added.

Mr Essuman said the policy dubbed 93Vehicle For Work and Pay" would ensure that members would be provided with vehicles on work and pay basis.

In addition, management was collaborating with National Drivers' Academy to train drivers periodically to enable them update their knowledge and skills in the profession.

Mr Essuman said December 18 every year had been instituted as Drivers= ' Day where they would be awarded and called on corporate Ghana to partner them to put smiles on the faces of drivers.

Alhaji Collins Dauda, Minister of Transport, in an address read on his behalf, said investment in the transport sector was a major priority for th= e government.

However, he conceded that provision of transport infrastructure and services were capital intensive and government alone could not afford, therefore it was seeking private investment in the provision of transport infrastructure and services.

The Sector Minister said government was determined to provide leadership and guidance for the development of Ghana's transportation sys= tem through effective policy formulation, market regulation, asset management and service provision.

He said transportation played a major role in the economy hence the role of drivers in the economy could not be underestimated and commended Driveco Ghana for coming out with the innovations to address their welfare during active service and retirement.

Alhaji Dauda assured the management of the Ministry's commitment to provide the need assistance required to ensure sustenance of the initiative= , and appealed to beneficiaries to endeavour to honour their due payments to ensure others also benefit from the scheme.

Police Chief Inspector Eric Mpata of Motor, Traffic and Transport Unit of the Ghana Police Service, commended the management for the support and advised drivers to cultivate maintenance culture to avoid road crashes.