URBAN TRANSPORT WORKSHOP ENDS (PAGE 3, NOV 30)

A TWO-DAY capacity building workshop to equip various professionals with communication skills to enable them to contribute to the successful implementation of the Urban Transport Project in the country ended in Koforidua last Friday.
The workshop drew about 60 public relations officers, surveyors, marketers, among others, working at the Urban Passenger Transport units of 10 metropolitan and municipal assemblies in the country.
They were equipped with the rudiments of effective communications management, media and public relations skills to enable them to effectively communicate with different stakeholders in the transport industry.
They were drawn from the Urban Passenger Transport Unit offices of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, as well as the Ledzorkuku, Krowor, Ga East, Ga West, Adenta, Ashiaman, Ejisu and Weija Municipal assemblies, who would be implementing the project on a pilot basis.
It was organised by the Urban Transport Project and facilitated by the Staurus Training Ghana.
Addressing the participants at the opening ceremony, the Head of Communications and Public Relations of the Urban Transport Project, Mr Kwadwo Antwi, said the implementation of the project was aimed at improving urban mobility and dealing with traffic and congestion in towns and cities.
Under phase one, he said, the government would give priority to providing the necessary infrastructure such as the construction of bus lanes from Mallam to the central business district of Accra and high occupancy vehicles and buses to facilitate the movement of the people.
“To this end, the government, in implementing the project ,is constructing a road from Mallam to the central business district and providing dedicated special bus lanes to reduce the long hours commuters spend moving from one place to another”, Mr Antwi said.
He was hopeful that the successful implementation of the project would encourage Ghanaians to “move from their private vehicles into these buses and commute to any destination without the delays and other hindrances often encountered on our roads”.
A resource person from the Staurus Training of Ghana, Mr Graham Rose, an international consultant and trainer in communications and advertising, educated the participants on the need to effectively package their message using the appropriate communication medium to reach the desired target audience.
That, according to him, would enable them to effectively and efficiently communicate the immense benefits of the project and solicit the support and co-operation of the public.