By Laudia Sawer
Tema, Jan. 23, GNA – Ms Gloria Agyemang, a 23-year-old taxi driver at Tema Community 25, says she finds fulfilment in working as a taxi driver rather than being unemployed and waiting for non-existent jobs.
Dressed in a t-shirt over a pair of jeans and a scarf on her braids, the young-lady cabbie, meets her passengers with a beautiful smile on her face, ready to chauffeur them from the Tema Community 25 Mall Taxi Station to their destinations as she strives to make a living.
Speaking with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, she urged the youth not to sit down in wait for jobs, but rather look for other decent avenues to make a living for themselves.
“There are no jobs available for us now, and those that are available are strictly based on whom you know and have links with; without them, you won’t get any job of your choice,” she said.
She indicated that after searching for jobs for a while without any satisfactory results, she decided to use her driving skills to make money by applying to join the taxi station.
“Even though I initially faced some resistance from my male colleagues, the president of the taxi drivers’ association ensured that I was given the nod to operate from here,” Ms Agyemang said.
She indicated that since she commenced, it had been rewarding, saying she was able to make enough money to fulfil her weekly sales of GH¢450 to her former car owner and was now operating a ‘work and pay’ car.
Ms Agyemang, who is yet to be married or have children, said that, as the only woman among several male drivers, she sometimes faced intimidation from some passengers who wanted to pay less for her services.
She explained that some of the passengers also treated her rudely, but because of her resolve to work, she ignored them.
“I concentrate on my driving, and that makes more passengers opt for my services whenever I’m at the station,” she said.
She said prior to venturing into taxi driving, she worked at KFC, the Tema Harbour, and as a project supervisor and cashier at a construction site.
“I’ve also been trained in dump truck operating,” she said.
GNA