Bad roads are the cause of accidents - Minority

Accra, May 23, GNA - Some members of the Minority on Tuesday heckled a Deputy Minister of Roads and Transport, Mr Mike Hammah for "playing down" the role of bad roads in the occurrence of accidents.

They said they would not take any excuse for the recent spate of accidents that have robbed many families of loved ones. As Mr Hammah went on, the House started drawing apart on party lines. Mrs Theresa Tagoe, NPP-Ablekuma South, had read a statement on the recent accident that claimed the lives of a student of Aburi Girls Secondary School, blaming the misfortune on the poor nature of the Accra-Cape Coast road.

The Deputy Minister in his contribution said " the fact that bad roads lead to accidents is not entirely true." He said indiscipline on the roads was rather a mjor contributory factor in avoidable accidents and their attendant loss of lives on the nation's roads.

Mr Kojo Armah, CPP-Evalue Gwira, said the state of roads in the country shows the level of importance government attaches to the lives of Ghanaians. "Are we going to see this as the last or one of the several sad events that are going to be heard."

Some took a more religious stand, "When students are travelling, they should pray, they should sing songs that would let the Lord take them to their destination safely," Mr Francis Kwasi Bour NPP-Offinso South said.

Mr Kwadwo Adjei-Darko, NPP-Sunyani West, appealed for proper organisation of emergency infrastructure and personnel to handle such accidents. He said it should not always be for the "speciality of a particular case" that the whole nation goes back to reflect on its problems. He said "every individual's life is important" and we should address the problem collectively.

Mr Kwabena Fosu, NDC- Asikuma/Odoben/Brakwa, asked the House to depart from the annual ritual of just talking and mourning misfortunes without doing anything about it. He called for constant Police patrols on highways and a strict adherence to traffic rules.

Mr Steve Akorli, a Deputy Minister of Roads and Transport, said as a student has alleged that the driver drinks, the possibility that he was drunk while driving could not be ruled out. He called on educational institutions to employ responsible drivers, who are more into defensive driving.

"We are not happy about the spate of accidents and the state of roads but l want to implore all to be more cautions even on a good road."