THE Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, has appealed to Ghanaians to refrain from politicising the recent increase in the carnage on the country’s roads.
He said a section of the society were politicising the issue as a price the country was paying for the National Democratic Congress’s use of juju for their victory in the 2008 general election.
The Regional Minister said lately Ghanaians had become fond of playing politics with pertinent national issues, which included the recent carnage on the roads, thus switching attention from instituting effectives measures that could help curb road accidents.
Speaking at the launch of the Easter Road Safety campaign at Nkawkaw on Tuesday, Mr Ampofo said “we should rather channel our determined resolve on educating our drivers and enforcing the law so as to stop the accidents”.
“Why should we, as a nation, associate recklessness on the part of drivers who over speed, do wrongful overtaking, abuse alcohol, do not engage in regular checks on their vehicles on a daily basis and are even prepared to bribe the police to overlook such shortcomings, on politics?” Mr Ampofo asked.
Addressing members of the various transport unions, traditional authorities and heads of departments in the Kwahu West District, he said Ghanaians must ensure that efforts being directed at resolving the various factors contributing to the accidents were not undermined.
The meeting formed part of efforts by the Eastern Regional Police Command and other stakeholders in the transport industry to educate commercial drivers on road safety and regulations to ensure sanity on the roads in the region.
The stakeholders are the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), Motor Transport and Traffic Unit (MTTU), Driver, Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the various transport unions.
He indicated that recklessness on the part of motorists and other factors such as drink-driving, wrongful overtaking and speeding, as well as fatigue and the deplorable state of the roads were the major causes of accidents
He, therefore, stressed the need for the rigid enforcement of regulations and laws to check the conduct of drivers as part of measures to curb the carnage of the roads.
Mr Ampofo also called on the law enforcement agencies to be more professional in the discharge of their duties, since any lapse on their part could give drivers the perception that they could always get away with their wrongdoing by offering money to policemen on the roads.
“Together, we must all help to stop over- familiarisation with law enforcement agencies by motorists who think they can bribe the police officers and get away without facing the rigours of the law,” he said.
“A police officer who enforces the law is a best friend of the drivers than the one who collects money and drinks with them,” Mr Ampofo added.
Other personalities who spoke during the event were DCOP George Anko-Bill, the Eastern Regional Police Commander, who is also the Chairman of the Eastern Regional Road Safety Commission, and Mr Stephen Anokye, the Eastern Regional Manager of the NRSC.
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