Major infrastructure projects are driving rising demand for freight transportation in Ghana. For example, the government is building a new integrated logistics terminal near Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, 250 km north of the capital Accra, to handle transit cargo traffic between Ghana’s coast and its northern hinterlands, as well as its landlocked neighbours Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

More heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) means more drivers, raising the importance of driver training if Ghana is to meet its transport needs safely and efficiently. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 8,500 people died in road accidents in the country in 2021, with many more injured or maimed, putting extra strain on health services and a brake on the country’s sustainable development.

In an important step toward reducing road accidents and improving transportation services, the government of Ghana recently approved a new HGV driver training standard developed by Transaid in partnership with the Puma Energy Foundation.

Under the second phase of this partnership, Transaid will work with local transport associations to roll out the HGV standard to professional truck drivers through sensitisation and direct engagement. It will also build government capacity to assess and examine drivers against the new standard.

Transaid has significant experience in developing HGV driver training standards at a national and regional level. The organisation has been working with trainers to improve the driving standards of more than 80,000 commercial vehicle drivers across Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda since 2008.

In Ghana, Transaid will expand the provision of training to inland areas including the Ashanti Region and establish an institutional home for HGV driver training within the National Vocational Training Institute in Kumasi. It will also advocate for the harmonisation of professional driver training across West Africa by promoting Ghana as a model to other states in the region.

Concretely, Transaid will develop four HGV short course refresher modules, train an additional six HGV driver trainers in the Ashanti Region, establish the HGV training centre in Kumasi, train 12 national examiners to assess drivers against the new standard, and support the rollout of the standard by reaching 8,000 HGV drivers nationwide.

Through its continued support for Transaid, the Puma Energy Foundation is creating the qualified workforce needed to provide safe and efficient commercial transportation in West African countries, helping them to pursue sustainable development for the benefit of their citizens.

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