The Kumasi mayor, Samuel Pyne, has been urged to permit tricycle drivers to travel the city’s main thoroughfares.
The Communications Officer for the opposition National Democratic Congress, Abass Nurudeen, who made the statement on Inside Politics on TV XYZ Thursday contended that the operations of the tricycles cannot be blamed for the choked streets in the busy areas of the Ashanti Regional capital.
He attributed the heavy traffic jams in those areas to the street vendors and vendors who sell their wares on the shoulders of roads in Kejetia, Adum, and other parts of the central business district.
It will be recalled that operators of the tricycles clashed with the police in Kumasi over a ban by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) on their operations in certain parts of the city.
Several police officers were hurt during the altercation, and some protesters were detained.
The matter has not been fully resolved as police in Kumasi prevent riders of tricycles from operating in some areas.
Nurudeen believes the KMA Boss, Sam Pyne, is over stepping his territories by placing hurdles on the way of the men whose only source of livelihood is from riding those mini cabs.
To him, the KMA Boss is being partisan with his approach because the operators of the tricycles are mainly from the stronghold of the NDC and thus he has to frustrate them.
“Sam Pyne must be careful with his approach. The riders of these tricycles are earning decent money from their daily work,” Nurudeen said in Akan.
” Sam Pyne knows those who are causing traffic jam in Kejetia and Adum. He knows it is the women who sell on the shoulders of the road and in some cases, overtake parts of the roads at Adum and the Hello FM area. He is reluctant to sack them from the roads because they are members of his party–the NPP.”
Nurudeen also alleged that the traffic jam is caused by some illegal lorry terminals at Adum and Kejetia market that were created by the KMA Boss.
” He [Sam Pyne] knows about this. He is one of those who have created illegal lorry terminals and taking daily sales from the drivers,”Nurudeen fumed.
He added, ” the KMA Boss should rethink his actions or else we will face him.”