Mahama: Ghanaians should not accept slaughter on roads as normal

Gomoa Assin (CR), Oct. 26, GNA - Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Monday appealed to Ghanaians not to accept the "slaughter" of lives through road accidents as a normal phenomenon

Rather, Ghanaians should be impelled by the sheer scale of the tragedy and initiate swift co-ordinated action that would forestall the situation. Launching the joint 10th anniversary of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and National Road Safety Commission at Gomoa Assin Mampong in the Central Region, Vice President Mahama spoke about policies to prevent further human loss and other fatalities. The occasion was also used to launch the "arrive alive" campaign, an advocacy effort, aimed at tackling the situation, which cost the nation almost two per cent of Gross Domestic Product. Vice President Mahama announced a directive by President John Evans Atta Mills to his ministers, particularly the Regional Ministers, to assume lead advocacy roles on road safety issues to bring down the high spate of mortality, estimated to have claimed the lives of some 1,000 Ghanaians in 2008.

Describing 2009 as one of the most challenging with regard to road accidents, he expressed worry about the huge social and economic impact and the untold hardship it wrought on the people. Vice President Mahama was particularly worried that road accidents continued to "shatter families, rob society of bread winners, deprive business of skilled labour, plunge families into massive health-related debt, consume hospital resources and hinder local economies". He said although the global motor fatalities were to rise to two million by 2020, the irony was that the developed nations were to experience a 30 per cent drop if appropriate measures were adopted. Vice President Mahama said it was against this backdrop that government was embracing some of the best road safety practices, respect for traffic regulations, which demand higher standards from stakeholder institutions, to prevent further carnage.

"We as a government are further concerned because the real loss in human potential cannot be easily measured," he said, pointing to safety and security measures being taken at the seat of government in ensuring that presidential convoy-related accidents are prevented. Vice President Mahama said government saw the task of bringing down road crashes as a shared responsibility, stressing that the Mills administration would not renege on its commitment to keep the people safe and secure by increasing funding for road safety activities by 69 per cent. 26 Oct. 09