The Vision for Alternative Development (VALD) has commended the Inspector General of Police (IGP), David Asante-Appeatu, for pledging to resource the Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) to enhance road safety.
The IGP, during the closing ceremony of the Junior Command Course at the Ghana Police Command and Staff College at Winneba, said he would resource the MTTD to meet international standards and protect lives on the roads.
The VALD, a non-governmental road safety organisation, commended the IGP in a statement signed by Mr Labram Musah, the Programmes Director, and copied to the Ghana News Agency.
It said the assurance had come at a time the country was experiencing a myriad of road traffic accidents leading to severe injuries and loss of lives and described the IGP’s statement as “very instructive.”
“We truly want to see the MTTD skillfully equipped. However, without adequate accoutrement to spot and clamp down on reckless driving, indiscipline and over speeding on our roads, we are afraid the situation will remain as it is,” it said.
The VALD recommended a separate road traffic management course in the syllabus of new recruits during their training. It called for proper coordination among all major road safety agencies in the country adding; “the National Road Safety Commission, the Driver Vehicle and Licensing Authority, the National Ambulance Service, and Ghana National Fire Service primarily complement each other.”
The statement said; “The Road Safety Act and regulations have all prescribed the antidotes to these problems, so it is time to enforce the various provisions to its fullest. We don’t even know when the spot fine will be implemented.” The VALD said engineers must take special care during road construction adding that the way and manner a road was constructed could help save lives even there was an accident.
“We at VALD believe that many Ghanaians are ever ready to support any action that will effectively reduce road traffic death and injuries. Road safety is a collective responsibility; it affects everybody,” it said.