Road Ministry gets tough with pre-mixed concrete companies

The Ministry of Roads and Highways has formed a committee to deal with truck drivers who spill pre-mixed concrete on roads and in the environment.

The committee, which will start work next month, comprises representatives of the ministry, the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service, and the Chamber of Construction Companies and has the mandate to stop the spillage of concrete on roads and the environment and bring offenders to book.

Ahead of the committee’s work, the sector Minister, Mr. Kwasi Amoako Atta, held a meeting with representatives of the concrete mixing companies last Wednesday to impress on them to desist from perpetrating the menace.

The meeting was attended by some stakeholders of the sector, contractors, officials from the MTTD, and some directors of the ministry.

“We are going to work closely, monitor and arrest the culprits,” the minister stated.

Laws

Mr. Amoako Atta said the continuous spillage of concrete on roads was a nuisance, unacceptable, and would not be tolerated.

Quoting Regulation 113 of the Road Traffic Act, 2004 (Act 683), Mr. Amoako Atta said anyone that violated the regulations committed an offense and was liable to summary conviction to a fine not below 25 penalty units and not exceeding 50 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding three months or both.

He also cited the Criminal Act, 1960 (Act 29), Section 173 of which he said clearly spelled out the consequences of their action through causing damage to the road or any interruption.

The minister warned that anybody arrested would be prosecuted “without fear or favour, no matter who you are, as soon as you are arrested.”

He expressed concern about the rampant behaviour of Ghanaians pleading through influential people in society anytime they fell foul of the law and reminded the stakeholders that the ministry did not take interest in punishing people but ensuring that the right thing was done.

Mr Amoako Atta underscored the important role the pre-mixed concrete industry was playing in the construction industry and encouraged them to continue to give off their best, but be responsible.

Background

In September this year, the Daily Graphic carried a report on how mixer trucks spilled concrete on road, destroying the asphalt roads, a major nuisance that also endangers motorists.

The spills usually occur when concrete is being transported to construction sites and when residual concrete is washed from a mixer truck onto road surfaces after delivery.

The spills harden fast, creating lumps that leave road surfaces rough, endangering the health and safety of road users.

The Daily Graphic team found hardened lumps from spilled concrete on many roads in Accra, especially on roads around the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange, a section of the Graphic Road, around the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) and some roads in Cantonments, Labone, East Legon and Adentan between Assemblies and Ritz, the GIMPA road, the latest place being the Burma Camp by-pass, popularly known as “Mahama Road”.