THE chiefs and people of Aburi, Kitase and Gyankama in the Akuapem South District, have made a passionate appeal to the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) to put in place the necessary safety measures to ensure safety on the Pantang-Mamfe road.
The road, which was rehabilitated about three years ago and transformed to become one of the best in the country, has become a death trap due to speeding by motorists.
Making the appeal through the Daily Graphic at Aburi, the chiefs who were led by the Aburihene, Otobuor Gyan Kwasi, said safety measures such as the construction speed humps and road signs like zebra crossings, would help reduce the rampant killing of people, especially women and children, by speeding motorists.
According to them, in some instances, the drivers even refused to stop after knocking down pedestrians, making it impossible to bring the offenders to book.
They said in July, last year, 19 persons, mostly children and women, were killed by vehicles on the Kitase-Gyankama stretch of the 30-kilometre highway.
They added that two years ago, four children who were crossing the road to fetch water were also instantly killed while many adults were also killed or sustained various degrees of injury after being knocked down by speeding vehicles.
Some of the adults who survived the accidents included four teachers from the Aburi Girls Senior High School who were crossing the road from the main yard of the school to the annexe.
To reduce or avert such tragic deaths on the highway, residents of Kitase and Gyankama have without the approval of the Ghana Highway Authority, erected speed humps on the road within the two towns, which have not reversed the situation but rather destroyed the beauty of the road.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Aburihene, Otobuor Djan, the Kitasehemaa, Nana Korkor Ntim, and the Headmistress of Aburi Girls SHS, Mrs Silvia Asempa, appealed to the GHA to use its expertise to address the issue as quickly as possible.
According to them, several appeals to draw the attention of the GHA to the danger posed to the people living along the road by speeding drivers had yielded no fruitful results.
They stated that until proper speed humps were erected along the highway, the frequent knocking down of pedestrians with the attendant deaths would continue.
“If those who are responsible for ensuring safety on the roads to prevent the killing of innocent people do not do what is expected to stop the carnage, then people in affected communities are left with no option but to erect inappropriate speed humps to save lives and property,” the Aburihene stated.
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