A PROJECT aimed at educating members of local communities along major highways in the country on the dangers associated with stealing petroleum products from accident tankers has been launched at Asuboi in the Suhum-Kraboa-Coaltar District.
The initiative, dubbed “Total Caravan for Safety”, is aimed at using effective communication tools such as drama and other strategic media in local languages to bring about attitudinal change among the people.
It is hoped that it would help to discourage the people from rushing from their homes to scenes of accidents involving fuel tankers and siphoning fuel from them, which in the event of a fire outbreak claim many lives.
In addition, the campaign is also being used to educate members of the targeted communities on how to reduce domestic accidents due to poor storage and use of hydrocarbons in local communities.
The project, which was targeted at members of communities along Nsawam-Suhum stretch of the Accra-Kumasi Highway, would also be launched at three key highway routes in the country, namely the Accra-Aflao, the Accra-Takoradi and the Kumasi-Tamale Highways.
It is being sponsored by the Total Petroleum Ghana Limited and supported by other stakeholders such as the Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Transport, the Ghana National Fire Service, Road Safety Limited, National Disaster Management Organization, Motor Traffic and Transport Unit and the Ghana Police Service.
In an address last Friday, the Managing Director of Total Petroleum Ghana Limited (TPGL), Mr Jonathan Molapo, said his outfit decided to specifically launch the campaign at Asuboi because of the spate of accidents along the Nsawam-Suhum stretch of the Accra-Kumasi Highway, which have claimed many lives.
He indicated that since the spate of road traffic accidents mostly intensified, especially during festive occasions, “we could not have chosen a better time than now to launch the “Total Caravan for Safety Project” to ensure the safety of lives and property on the roads.
“Our leadership in a highly competitive industry of over 50 Oil Marketing Companies placed a greater responsibility on Total to deliver not only top notch services to its customers but also to ensure that we are socially responsible to all manner of stakeholders in our communities,” the MD stated.
According to him, the highly volatile nature of products the company transported across the length and breadth of the country made it imperative to take the necessary steps to carry out “all activities with safety as the overriding principle”.
In his view, many safety measures taken by the company, such as the establishment of the Programme for Improvement on Overseas Road Transport (PATROM) and Road Safety Limited, a school meant to train its drivers, and inspect and maintain its trucks, were already yielding encouraging results.
“By these safety undertakings, we have been able to significantly reduce the number of accidents and the levels of their severity,” Mr Molapo added.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Transport, Mr Joe Gidisu, said the transport sector, being a major driver in the Ghanaian economy, continued to face major challenges, especially in the area of road safety.
“Records at the ministry indicate that 30,351 heavy goods vehicles, including bulk road vehicles, were involved in road traffic crashes with 213 recorded fatalities”, he said, adding that “8,802 of these casualties occurred in rural areas”.
He recounted the accident on the Accra-Winneba Road involving the transportation of hydrocarbons, which claimed several lives when the victims attempted to siphon fuel from the tanker but were burnt to ashes when the tanker caught fire.
Mr Gidisu, who expressed the delight of his outfit to be associated with the good works of TPGL, said as part of measures to ensure the highest safety standards in the transport sector, the ministry had, in partnership with other stakeholders, launched a massive road safety campaign dubbed “Arrive Alive” along the major highways and communities in the country.
In an address read on his behalf by his deputy, Mr Baba Jamal, the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, noted that since road safety was a shared responsibility, other stakeholders should also intensify their education on road safety to protect lives and property on the roads.
He also urged the MTTU of the Ghana Police Service to intensify its checks on the roads and apprehend drivers who flouted road traffic regulations.
No comments:
Post a Comment