THE Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, has called on the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) to establish a driving training school to transfer driving skills to its members.
That, he noted, would equip drivers with the needed knowledge of the rules and regulations of the profession to curb the rampant road accidents in the country.
“Since driving is a noble profession, our utmost priority as a recognised institution should concentrate on investing in the establishment of a driving school to raise the standard of our profession and safety on the road,” he stated.
Mr Ampofo, who made the remark when the executive of the Eastern Regional GPRTU paid a courtesy call on him at his office at Koforidua last Monday, stated that “we must learn every road sign and regulation in order to describe ourselves as masters of the profession”.
The call was to congratulate Mr Ampofo on his appointment as Eastern Regional Minister and also seek his assistance in resolving some nagging issues confronting the operations of the association in the area.
The regional minister noted that although the driving profession was a noble one that had played a significant role in all facets of the economy, the recent spate of road accidents had seriously tarnished its image.
He attributed the fatalities on the roads partly to the inability of some drivers to read and understand simple road signs and failure to abide by the rules and regulations of the profession.
“Besides, the gross indiscipline exhibited by some drivers through acts such as speeding, wrong overtaking, overloading and drunk driving have also led to accidents on our roads,” he added.
The regional minister also expressed worry about the refusal of drivers to observe road signs and to rest during long journeys, noting that fatigue had been identified as one of the major causes of accidents.
“How on earth can a driver travelling from Accra to Kumasi, take no rest for such a hectic four-hour journey?” he quizzed the executive of the GPRTU, adding that “you are human and can never cheat nature”.
As part of the government’s pledge to build the capacity of the private transport sector, the minister reiterated the government’s commitment to provide various transport unions with new buses, in collaboration with some financial institutions.
He, therefore, appealed to drivers who had not yet joined any of the transport unions to do so to enable them to benefit from the package.
For his part, the Eastern Regional Chairman of the GPRTU, Mr J. K. Cudjoe, expressed concern about the spate of lawlessness on the part of some drivers, especially those who were not members of the GPRTU.
“Such lawlessness has arisen since most of these drivers do not belong to any union for them to be checked and regulated,” he added.
He also appealed to the regional minister to help allocate a parking space for Metro Mass Transit buses which had taken over spaces meant for members of the union.
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