Gov’t bags over ¢6.17b from traffic offences

The Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service, has bagged over Six Billion, One Hundred and Sixty-nine Million, Five hundred and Sixty Thousand Cedis (GH¢6,169,560,000 new cedi), as fines paid into the Consolidated Fund from arrests made across the country, for the second quarter of 2013. This is a sharp increase in the 2012 figure of over three billion (GH¢338,503.00 old).

A document emanating from the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU),has it that a total of GH¢161,890.00 was raised in the Greater Accra Region; GH¢1,080.00 in the Upper East; GH¢1,806.00 in the Northern; Upper West GH¢6,520.00; Brong Ahafo GH¢ 101,376.00; Tema GH¢ 8,900.00 and Eastern Gh¢205,020.00.

The rest are Central GH¢13,044.00, Volta Region GH¢26,670.00, Western Region GH¢60,620.00, Ashanti GH¢31,410.00 and Greater Accra GH¢160,510.00, as a result of the arrest of drivers in the regions for the second quarter.

According to the document available to The Herald, in the second quarter of 2013, five hundred and four (504) arrests were made in the Greater Accra Region, from which a total of three hundred and sixty-seventy (367) were sent to court. Out of this, two hundred and eighty-four (284) cases were convicted, with forty-two cases awaiting trial, but ninety-one (91) cases are under investigations in the metropolis.

The Courts have issued a bench warrant for the arrest of eighteen (18) motorists in the Accra metropolis, one (1) person was jailed and forty six (46) motorists have been issued with warning letters, the document revealed. So far, twenty-two (22) motorists have been discharged by the Courts in the Greater Accra Region.

Figures from the Upper East Region, showed that forty-four cases were reported and eight was sent to court out of which eight cases were convicted and thirty-nine are under investigations. From the Northern Region, three cases were recorded and sent to Court, and all three motorists were jailed.

In Upper West Region, ninety-seven cases were reported, eighty-seven sent to Court, and seventy -eight convicted, while six were awaiting trial with sixty still under investigations.

In the case of the Brong Ahafo Region, two hundred and twenty-eight cases was recorded, from which One Hundred Forty-Three went to Court, One Hundred and Fifteen persons had been convicted, thirteen awaiting trial, sixty under investigations, one jailed, twenty-five issued with warning letters and fourteen discharged.

Others are Tema, where one Hundred and Eighty cases were recorded, with one Hundred Forty-two sent to Court and one hundred and twenty cases convicted. Nine of the cases are awaiting trial, bench warrant issued for the arrest of thirteen, thirty-eight issued with warning letters.

Eastern Region recorded four hundred and thirty-six (436), three hundred and twenty-four(324) was sent to Court, one hundred eighty-three (183) convicted, sixty-eighty (68) awaiting trial fifty (50) under investigations, seven-two (72) issued with bench warrant and sixty-two (62) issued with warning letters and one jailed.

Central, one hundred seventy-six cases recorded, one hundred and nineteen (119) sent to Court, ninety-four persons convicted, fifteen awaiting trial, forty-seven under investigations, two issued with bench warrant, two jailed, ten issued with warning letters and seven discharged.

At Volta one hundred and one (101) cases were recorded, eighty –one (81) went to Court, six-five (65) were convicted, sixteen awaiting trial, ten under investigations, ten issued with warning letters and seven discharged.

The remaining are Western, where two hundred and eighty-nine (289) cases recorded, two hundred and eighty-one (281) sent to Court, two hundred and thirty-three(233) convicted so far, seventeen awaiting trial, five(5) under investigations, twenty-one (21) issued with bench warrant, three (3) issued with warning letters and ten discharged.

In the Ashanti Region, ninety-one (91) cases were recorded and all went to court, eighty-eight (88) convicted and three discharged. The document also revealed that in the year 2012, a total of one thousand and five hundred cases were reported, from which one thousand and six went to court, seven hundred and three were convicted.

One hundred and eighty-seven cases from last year, are awaiting trial, two hundred and forty still under investigations, bench warrant issued for the arrest of seventy motorists, five jailed, two hundred and fifty-four issued with warning letters and forty –one discharged. It was from these arrests that GH¢338,503.00 was paid into the consolidated fund.