Prostitutes Invade Takoradi Harbour

The influx of drivers from Ghana’s land locked neighbours to cart their goods from the Sekondi-Takoradi Port is promoting prostitution in the twin-city. Girls aged between 13 and 16 are among a large number of women pestering the drivers and their mates for sex in return for money.

The drivers who are in the country to cart goods to their respective countries while at the Takoradi Port, have to wait days on end for their goods.

Where the drivers and their mates sleep with the women is what has been worrying decent residents in the metropolis.

The drivers create what is described as “domes” under their vehicles with mosquito nets, hung them under their vehicles. They normally choose the teenage girls and offer them enticing sums of monies to win their love.

Concerned drivers are, however, worried over what they described as the low morals and money hungry girls who sleep with anybody without considering the hazards of HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

One driver at the port area told The Spectator “master, it is not easy in the night as you see these girls dressed like adults coming around to worry us.

You can say anything to them, but they will not go away all they need is money, and they come anytime of the night.”

A visit to the OJK and Fijai areas for example, showed a brisk sex trade by these teens and their ‘lovers’.

According to Spectator’s investigation, most of the girls are not interested in charging any fees or any heavy sums of money but so long as the partner stays in town, and would give them some money everyday they are ready to be their ‘wives’.

The Regional Director of Social Welfare, Mrs Joan W. Mensah, who was worried told the Spectator that many children were born and abandoned and asked “when the drivers go away, who takes care of babies born by these drivers?”

She went on “people are hiding under the cloak of anonymity in urban areas and are doing what they like.

“The result is not what we see today. The real result would be reaped when the girls start getting pregnant. By that time the men will not be there to look after their children and society will have to bear the brunt.”

Mrs. Mensah added that our future generation is at risk and we need to solve the problem on sex by these teens.

“We don’t need unborn babies, a lot of children are being abandoned on the streets.”

At regional workshop in the Western Region last week for Regional Economic Planning officers, Mrs. Olivia Opoku-Adomah, said that drivers and their mates have complained that the teenage girls were pestering them in the night for sex.

She said that prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS has come down from 3.1 to 2.7 per cent in 2006, but the situation on the ground, however, looks horrible.

Mrs. Opoku-Adomah mentioned the OJK filling station area, the harbour and the PWD park as some of the areas where the teen girls “play”.

A reproductive health expert also stated teenage pregnancy is on the increase 'as we are having “cargo babies.”'