In a bold move to safeguard national revenue and enforce road safety, the National Security Secretariat is ramping up efforts to dismantle entrenched corruption within Ghana’s axle weight monitoring system.
Hajia Rashida Mahama, Head of Monitoring and Intelligence at the Secretariat, led a high-level escort operation alongside cargo trucks en route from Ghana to the Togo border, a mission initiated following a safety request by a logistics firm. The journey exposed a troubling pattern of misconduct at several axle weighing stations.
According to Hajia Mahama, investigations revealed that some officials at these stations were fraudulently inflating the weight of cargo to extort money from truck drivers. More alarmingly, she said, certain personnel were found to be colluding with private companies to completely bypass the weighing process—effectively diverting state revenue into private hands.
“These practices are not only corrupt but a betrayal of public trust,” Hajia Mahama said during a press briefing. “The state is losing millions of Cedis—funds that should be directed toward national development and infrastructure.”
The operation also highlighted another growing concern: commercial trucks parked indiscriminately along highways, posing a major hazard to motorists. Hajia Mahama issued a stern warning, stating that vehicles found in unauthorised zones would be towed and their drivers penalised.
She reaffirmed the government’s zero-tolerance stance on corruption, particularly within the transport and logistics sector, and called on all stakeholders to act in the national interest.
“This is not just about stopping corruption—it’s about protecting lives and preserving public resources,” she stressed.
