Minister promises to support road safety campaigns

Mr Bede Ziedeng, Northern Regional Minister, has assured the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) of his readiness to assist the commission to ensure compliance of road safety regulations.

He assured the NRSC that he would ensure that persons who violate the road safety law are arrested, irrespective of their political affiliation and would be made to face the law.

“As a lawyer, I want people to obey the law and it’s only through this that we can have a better society.”

He advised motorists within the Tamale Metropolis to desist from disobeying traffic rules because the Regional Coordinating Council would not intervene to help release anybody who was found culpable, but would rather allow the law and institutions to operate fully.

Mr. Ziedeng made the commitment in Tamale during a meeting with a delegation of the NRSC, who paid a courtesy call on him to solicit his commitment and support towards compliance to road safety regulations.

The NRSC had cited political and traditional interferences as one of the major obstacles hindering its efforts at reducing road accidents and has, therefore, taken the initiative to meet with major stakeholders to seek their support for that purpose.

Mr. Ziedeng also urged the NRSC and the Motor, Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service to demonstrate practically their seriousness to carry out their mandate of ensuring safety on the country’s roads and reducing accidents.

He advised the NRSC to take a cue from the Francophone countries in Africa where there was order on their roads saying “You dare not disobey the law in those countries”.

Mrs. Mary Obiri-Yeboah, Director of Planning and Programmes of the NRSC said the commission, in a research conducted in the country, revealed that road accidents claims more lives than HIV and AIDS and advised the public to be careful on the roads.

She called for support from political leaders, traditional rulers and other stakeholders to assist the NRSC to ensure that it meets the UN’s target of reducing by half, global road crashes by 2020 was achieved.

Mrs. Obiri-Yeboah identified riding without a helmet in the Northern parts of the country as one of the major causes of road crashes, saying that, indiscipline across the country was also another contributing factor to the carnage.

Mr. Alexander Ayattah, Northern Regional Manager of the National Road Safety Commission announced the intention of the commission to carry out a comprehensive exercise in collaboration with the MTTU to ensure compliance of the law in the region.

He advised motorists to ensure that their documents were road worthy before moving their vehicles onto the roads.