Anyone, who has been around Ghana for some time, in no time, becomes fully aware of certain unspoken motor traffic laws. Pedestrians don’t really use zebra crossings, nor do drivers really respect the zebra crossings available. One of the most important however is, if you break any traffic laws and a policeman wants to ‘shake you’ just slip him some 5ghc and you’ll usually be expunged. Oh Africa my Africa, when will all this corruption and indiscipline end?” people usually ask. Recently, one trotro driver proved that “we can indeed be the change we want to see in the world”… Or is it really worth it?
So the last time in a Makola bound trotro, some very impatient passengers alighted at a ‘no bus stop’ zone. Within seconds, an angry, but crafty looking policeman appeared from nowhere, and signalled the trotro to pull up to the side of the road. Makola is probably one of the most crowded places in Accra; between trotros stopping and moving in uncontrolled patterns, to pedestrians literally navigating their way through the road and the annoying hawkers who decide to take over the pavements, It simply is chaotic. Ironically, the Makola police station is situated in the middle of all this mess. Of late though, the police are making some efforts in trying to establish some kind of order. This includes occasional running after hawkers and rampant ‘arresting’ of law-breaking trotro drivers. So whose fault is it when a passenger insists on alighting at an illegal spot, especially when traffic is not moving? Unfortunately, there is so much indiscipline; from drivers, to passengers, to hawkers and pedestrians. In most cases, ‘who to blame’ usually ends up conveniently in a political argument. So back to the story.
Our trotro pulled aside, and the usual routine started, the police asked for registration papers, insurance and what not. Usually when this happens, passengers have to get off the bus and the driver is left alone with his mate, to deal with the officer. But on this day especially, with traffic being so thick, combined with the scarcity of trotros, some of the passengers began pleading with the police officer to spare the driver. Then the expected came, “Massa, you know you broke the law, eh and now I will arrest you, hey mate let all the passengers get down,” the officer bellowed. The driver tried to explain, but the policeman was adamant – this is the usual conversation that takes place when the trotro drivers get ‘caught’, then this usually follows. “Okay, I can let you go today, but you have to give a small 10cedi donation so we can build more street lights,” the policeman added. Everyone in the bus knew what this really meant. “Oh, massa, I dey beg, my money all finish, I no fi contribute” the driver pleaded. “Heh, okay 5 cedis, quick one, for electric cable.” Out of the blue the driver, garnered some confidence; “Look boss, I won’t pay you any bribe, the passengers broke the law, not me, so today dieeer, I no go pay!” Taken aback by this sudden confidence, the policeman tried to convince and yell at him, but at this point the passengers were into it. ‘Shame on you officer, today no bribe, yeren tua oo!!’ ‘Heh, papa driver, you should stand for president,’ ‘we’ll defend you in court koraa,’ ‘no bribe ooo’ people began yelling at the police officer while encouraging the driver not to pay the bribe.
Personally, I was among some of those yelling at the police officer, a chance like this is rare. The police officer at this point was in a mix, while the driver, injected with some vim from his passengers, was in yelling match with him. ‘These days, we won’t pay anything, take us to court, we will all go, and report you people!’ The passengers were literally cheering loudly now, attracting a small crowd of passers-by. Then an SUV pulled over in front of the bus, and a senior ranking officer walked over to see what was happening. At this point we were cheering, and taunting the abashed and fuming officer. “We’ll report you to your boss, you thief, you’ll see today, trotro aluta!!”someone yelled. “What’s the problem here?” the high ranking officer inquired. After the driver and policeman explained their sides of the story, the officer simply said. “Ah but you driver paa, you want to go to court, just give him some 5cedis bi, why are you hard like that?” We were all hushed by now, some in shock, others just clueless. “Do you want to go to court, can you even read, aah why? Look for something small for him, then you can go, you are a big fool, you are wasting your time, and look at all these passengers, you are wasting their time”
At this point the driver seemed completely repentant, and we the passengers, his followers, his fans, people who wanted this driver to run for president … well, let’s just say we had lost our energy. We all quieted down as the driver slipped a 5 cedi note to the now beaming officer. We rode in silence the rest of the way. As we got off, I wondered, whose fault is it? Who is more corrupt? We paying the bribes, or the ones collecting the bribes, or maybe we are all just hypocrites.?
trotrolane 
February 7th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
Honestly, being pressed so much to the wall,a lot of drivers and “decent” human beings might just slip that ten, five or two. no “ones” now since officers find it insultive. people in power should do well to refuse bribes even when offered……….. For crying out loud, the single spine puts alot in their pockets……
February 7th, 2011 at 3:17 pm
You missed one question in the “who is more corrupt?” part.
Who is more corrupt? The one paying or receiving the bribe, or the one who looks on in silence whilst the ‘transaction’ is ongoing.
It is always interesting to see how the systems are designed to allow bribery to seem like a better alternative. Harsh punishment for minor traffic offences et al, simply do not empower the citizenry to pursue honest routes.
In a moment of human weakness or forgetfulness, or oft in the Ghanaian case pure ignorance, I committed a minor offence and was caught. Do I ‘sort out’ the policeman, or face the ‘real lawman’ in court, who would have me pay a fine in excess of what his corrupt brother is asking for?
It is a conundrum really.
February 7th, 2011 at 7:34 pm
If arraigned for court you are going to part with at least twelve mil old to top it off the police man gets no profit for arresting the bad guy rather the courts reap the benefits. Monkey dey work baboon dey chop.
February 8th, 2011 at 7:51 am
i agree with Eben. i think the person looking on quietly is actually more corrupt because he has nothing to gain in either case so he has no excuse for not reporting the bribery. but we all usually just ignore wrong doings as though they don’t affect us. as Atta said “dzi wo fie as3m”
February 8th, 2011 at 10:06 pm
It is never the fault of the policeman, neither is it the driver, nor the silent by-stander. There is actually no incentive to the right thing here in Ghana. The policeman is underpaid, what else do we expect of him. (this is not an excuse to be corrupt though, but it is a causal variable). Even if the driver challenges the law officer and decides to go to court, he would be met with the same ethical dilemma of having to pay one or two clerks to have the docket thrown out.
What we need: Institutions (like IRS, legal systems) that work; we would thus collect all revenue due the government to pay the policemen adequately. We would have an efficient court system where traffic offenders would be processed in due time, say within 12 hours. Our institutions don’t work, and until the day when we would achieve workable institutions in Ghana, “we no go pay ooo, we no go pay”. Oh sorry “we go pay ooo, we go pay”