General News of Monday, 8 April 2002

Source: GNA

800 Ghanaians stranded in Burkina Faso

More than 800 Ghanaians travelling from various towns in Burkina Faso to Ghana are stranded at Bittou, a Burkinabe town 18 miles from Bawku, as a Burkinabe transport union refuses vehicles with Ghanaian registration numbers passage.

There are also more than 600 passengers made up of Ghanaians, Burkinabes and Nigeriens travelling to Burkina Faso and Niger, who are stranded at Bawku.

Alhaji Mamah Gumah, the Upper East Regional Chairman of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, at Bawku, over the weekend said the travellers' predicament started last Thursday, when "Otraf", a transport union at Bittou refused to allow passenger vehicles with

Ghanaian registration numbers access through the town to or from Ghana.

Members of Otraf want Bittou, to be the last stop for Ghanaian vehicles going to Burkina Faso.

He described the situation as unfortunate, especially, at this time that African countries are striving to forge closer relations among themselves, adding that Otraf's action is in contravention of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Protocol on travelling agreement.

He, therefore, appealed to the government to as a matter of urgency, take up the matter with the Burkinabe authorities to find a solution to the problem.