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Plateau state with its strategic location as a transit state from the six states of the North East and land locked country of Cameroon and Chad Republics positioned her to be busy with all form of vehicular traffics.
1. Statistically one cannot find any document on the number of trailers either laden or empty that use Jos as a transit state, this is due to lack of attention by previous governments and her agencies that is supposed to check such activities.
2. Plateau state stands to reap the benefits of such traffic when the right policy and infrastructure is put in place by providing the needed services to the truckers which can be government wholly owned or by using the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
3. The menace that is created in the city center is getting out of hand. The Dadin Kowa general area has in the last four years consistently been used as a parking lot for long distant drivers of articulated trailers thereby destroying the road, defacing the beauty of the area and creating black spots for criminality to thrive.
4. Plateau state with her three main entry and exit routes can be utilized for setting up of Truck Transit Parks (TTP) on the routes to provide safe parking space, create jobs and to generate revenue for the state.
5. I am suggesting two parks to be located strategically at Hawan Kibo and Mararaban Jama'a in Riyom and Jos South Local Government area to cater for long distant drivers for rest and sleep over while the other will serve as a garage and parking lot. On the other hand another one can be sited at Magaman Gumau to essentially take care of such trucks coming into Jos from the North East.
6. Deliberate policy will be required for enforcement to reduce the attendant risk to padestrants, motorist plying the roads particularly at night where such vehicles are not properly parked or having warning signs and to reduce crime in such areas.
7. At the present, there is lost revenue from the transportation industry on the Plateau and creative means such as the TTP can be explored to raise revenue from the sector, however government have a part to play to creating enabling environment for such revenue to be generated.
8. Multi sectional stakeholders engagement should be pursuit to drive the process.
9. I believe is not late to pursue policies that will positively position the state to live to its name as a Home of Peace and Tourism.
Nenfort Clifford Gonchen mcilrm
Jos, Plateau State
9/03/2023
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