Parts of Ghana’s capital are expected to come to a standstill tomorrow as thousands of commercial drivers and transport workers take to the streets in protest against what they call a creeping takeover of public land by private developers.
Led by the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and supported by the Concerned Drivers Association, the protest targets the alleged encroachment on land around the Cocoa Marketing Board (CMB) area—space long designated for lorry stations vital to Accra’s bustling transport network.
“We’re not just protesting for ourselves. This is about the survival of public infrastructure and livelihoods,” said Samuel Amoah, Deputy PRO of the GPRTU, during a press briefing in Accra on Monday. According to Amoah, the demonstration is the result of years of frustration over government inaction as designated transport lands are reportedly sold off for shopping malls, luxury apartments, and other commercial projects.
The drivers plan to march to the Jubilee House, the seat of government, to present a formal petition calling for immediate intervention. If successful, it would be one of the largest mass mobilizations by transport workers in recent years.
Support for the protest is swelling beyond the transport sector. Market women who operate in and around the affected lorry stations have issued an emotional plea to Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang and First Lady Lordina Mahama to intervene. They warn that the redevelopment plans could displace thousands of traders and informal workers who depend on the lorry stations for daily income.
“We’re already struggling to survive. If they take these stations away, we have nothing left,” said one trader, who has worked near the CMB area for over two decades.
Concerned Drivers Association President William Osei has called on all drivers to show solidarity by parking their vehicles during the protest—a move expected to severely disrupt transportation across the city.
Organizers say the protest is not just about reclaiming land but pushing back against a broader pattern: public infrastructure increasingly handed over to private developers at the expense of ordinary Ghanaians.
“This is a tipping point,” Amoah said. “We will not watch silently as our working spaces are sold off to the highest bidder ".
