GPRTU Boss: We Will Not Pay A Pesewa To The Ga Kingmaker

The Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the GPRTU has called the bluff of the Asere Dzasetse, a Kingmaker in the Ga state over the payment of tolls. Alhaji Issa Tetteh says the Ghana Private Road Transport Union will not pay a dime to the Ga Traditional Council as ordered by the Asere Dzaasetse, Nii Amarkai III. The Asere Dzasetse, speaking at a press conference organised to introduce a claimant to the Ga Stool, Boni Nii Tackie Adama Latse II after his installation Sunday, warned GPRTU officials to start getting used to the idea that they will be paying tolls to him. "If GPRTU can collect money from all the stations and me, the land owner, I can't collect money, from today and tomorrow all trotros will be on the road and I have to collect my tolls," he stated. Nii Amarkai said he was going to deploy his asafoatsemei (warriors) to all lorry stations in Accra to ensure that only trotros that pay tolls to them are allowed on the roads. "Trotro stations are not acquired lands, they are lands that belong to the Ga Dzaase Stool, they must know that they have to pay me tolls for working on my land and making profit," he stressed, arguing that the Gas cannot continue to be the poorest people when their land is the capital of Ghana. But the GPRTU boss said the proposal is vexatious and ill-informed. "How can we pay money to the [Ga] Traditional Council? Are we working under the traditional council? We will never pay one pesewa to anybody; one pesewa, we will not pay! They can't just come and say they want to collect money and I'm asking my people through your medium that nobody should attempt to pay one pesewa to anybody. We are not under any traditional council, we will never pay!" a livid Alhaji Tetteh told Joy FM. He rejected the Dzaasetse's argument that the lorry stations must pay tolls to the Ga Traditional Council because they operate on Ga lands. "Have they created any station? Has the Dzaasetse created any station"? he asked. Alhaji Issa Tetteh said the GPRTU will ignore the Ga Traditional Council asking why the Dzaasetse does go to the sea to collect money from the fishermen after all the Gas own the sea as well. The GPRTU, he said was prepared to face the asafoatsemei, "it is very annoying, even your own child in the house when you want to do something you confer with him. How can they sit down somewhere and say that people are coming [to collect tolls]? Let them come!"