Some commercial sex workers in Accra who cannot make enough daily sales during their escapades, have resorted to using sex in paying for their fares.
This situation has become alarming and worrisome to most drivers, especially, taxi drivers, whose services these prostitutes engage in the Accra metropolis.
Some of the drivers (names withheld) who spoke to The Spectator on this appalling turn of events said most of these women hire their services and when they are asked to pay, they tell them to have sex with them instead, since they do not have money on them to pay for their transport.
A married driver with two daughters who only mentioned his name as Joe, gave an account of his harrowing experience stating that, on his routine duty at about 5am a month ago he picked a lady who was well dressed from Achimota area to Adabraka, all suburbs of Accra.
He said that he charged her GH¢25 from where he picked her to Adabraka, adding that a few minutes into the journey, the lady told him she could not afford the fare and that, her prostitution business was not good that day and that he (the driver) should have sex with her in place of the fare.
“I quickly parked the vehicle and she opened the door and laid down at the passenger’s seat with her legs wide open and a condom in her hand and I ordered her to get down from the car, and drove off,” he added.
The driver said, he became angry and insulted her for wasting his time all the way from Achimota to Adabraka.
He said he allowed her to go because, he, was a family man whose Christian principles and conscience was against extramarital sex.
The driver said he had been careful ever since that episode and looked out for such commercial sex workers in the course of his work.
Another driver who mentioned his name as Eric Asante (not real name) told this paper that he picked one of the sex workers at about 5:30am two weeks ago at the Airport area to Dansoman in Accra at a fee of GH¢30.00 and when he was getting close to her destination she asked him to stop the vehicle and told him she does not have money and that he could engage her in sex to settle the fare.
The driver said that, he became very angry at first, but upon analysing the issue he had quick sex with her in a nearby bush to settle the fare.
“That is what some of us have been going through and we cannot ask them to go away with the money just like that, they either have to pay in cash or in kind for the fuel used,” he added.
Seven other drivers, who don’t want to be identified, said they went through similar experiences.
Two of the drivers said they seized the purses of the prostitutes when they refused to pay their fares, but after opening them, they contained only condoms and some coins, an indication that business was really not good for them.
He urged other drivers to ensure they always have condoms in their vehicles if they want to engage in sex.
The driver said the leadership of the taxi union has been informed about the issue.
BY ANITA NYARKO-YIRENKYI
