Pass National Transport Policy Bill into Law - GPTCWU

Accra, Oct. 8, GNA - The Ghana Petroleum, Transport and Chemical Workers Union (GPTCWU) has on the occasion of the International Transport Workers Federation's (ITF) Weeklong Action Campaign to sensitize road users on road safety, renewed its call on parliament to pass without delay, the National Transport Policy bill into law. According to the GPTCWU the passage of the bill would contribute significantly to the work of the road transport regulatory agencies in Ghana by providing an effective mechanism for drivers and other road users. The call was contained in a statement issued as part of activities to mark the ITF Road Transport Action Week Campaign which lasts from October 7 to 13, 2009 under the theme, "Eradicating the Carnage on our Roads, correcting the indiscipline, building union power". The General Secretary of the GPTCWU, Mr. Emmanuel Armstrong Mensah, said the passage of such a law was long over due and therefore called on government and parliament to expedite the processes for the enactment of the bill, the statement added. "In view of the problems at the moment, there is the need to have a continuous sensitization in educating road users to play their roles effectively and efficiently to be vigilant about the carnage on the roads, the indiscipline, and the undue delays at our frontiers", adding that organising drivers under the umbrella of transport unions will go a long way to offer them adequate and useful information to enable them to benefit from education and training in the area of health, safety and HIV/AIDS.

The statement contended that defensive driving, observance of road traffic regulations and mandatory rest periods, monitoring of drivers at our various corridors in the country to avoid over speeding which results in fatal accidents were other important issues of focus. Superintendent (Mrs) Debora Addison-Campbell, Deputy Commander of the National Motor Transport Traffic Unit of the Ghana Police, in an interview commended ITF and GPTCWU for their collaborative efforts to minimise the carnage as the nation needed all her citizenry alive to continue to play their roles towards national objectives. "We have taken you through driver education programmes to minimise the carnage on our roads but the problems still persist on our roads," she said, adding that the biggest challenge still rested in the hands of drivers. She said the police would soon mount a vigorous exercise to inspect log books on the highways to check over speeding. 08 0ct. 09