Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah
The Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, has expressed worry about the number of death cases recorded from road accidents in the country.
According to the Minister, within January and February this year, 517 people died due to road accidents.
The Minister disclosed this at the launch of this year’s Easter Road Safety Campaign held at Linda Door Rest Shop at Bunso Junction in the Eastern Region on Saturday, April 3, 2021.
The Minister noted that the worrying aspect of the situation is that many of the deaths involved young people.
To this end, he has indicated that the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), in collaboration with the Motor Traffic & Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service, will from June 2021 rollout a number of policy initiatives aimed at further enhancing safety on the various road networks of the country.
Some of the measures include fixing of cameras on the various highways to check over speeding. The new initiative, he said, will issue ticket detailing a fine for offenders which shall be paid at designated courts.
He also urged motorists not to drink and drive, cautioning that such practice put the lives of the drivers and passengers in danger.
Discipline
The Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority, Ing. May Obiri-Yeboah, also urged motorists to be disciplined and observe all safety signs when using the road.
She also urged them to restrict themselves to the speed limit and avoid over speeding. She further advised drivers to wear their seat belts and ensure that all the Covid-19 protocols in this era are adhered to.
Assessment
In a related development, the overlord of Asante, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has told the Ministry of Transport to immediately conduct a Transport Impact Assessment (TIA) to determine the number of vehicles that must be allowed and imported into the country.
This exercise, he noted, should be done in collaboration with the Ministry of Roads and Highways to determine the number of vehicles that ply the various motorable road networks in the country.
The objective, he explained, is to decongest the unnecessary traffic congestion on the various road networks in the country
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II said this when the Minister of Transport paid a courtesy call on him at Manhyia. The visit was meant to ask for the king’s blessings to inspect the progress of work on the ongoing expansion of the Kumasi Airport project.
Probe
Otumfuo also asked the Minister to probe the recent agitations by workers of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) and resolve all related issues.
“I don’t know why the workers are agitating but Yaw Kwakwa is doing very well. So, please investigate it and let me know the outcome. The workers’ agitations may be fuelled by someone who, perhaps, is interested in the position Kwakwa is occupying. If you follow all the things that workers unions are saying, you won’t be able to service the loan.
“The revenue GACL generates now goes into an Escrow Account to service this loan. If Kwakwa has embezzle some funds, he should be sacked, but if he is working hard to service this loan and also lifting the image of Ghana high, he should be encouraged and supported to continue his work,” he noted.
He also lauded leadership of the GACL and Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) for ensuring high aviation standards at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA). The airport was recently adjudged the 2019 Africa’s Best Airport by size and region with a passenger population of between two and five million as well as the 2020 Best Airport in terms of safety by the Airports Council International.
He further lauded government for upgrading the Tamale and Kumasi airports to international status, noting that such a move will make air travelling much easier for travelers irrespective of where they are.
Kumasi Airport
He appealed to government to ensure that the Kumasi Airport runaway is expanded to enable Boeing 373 to land at the airport.
Mr Ofori Asiamah thanked Otumfou for his continuous support to government, and assured him of taking action on all the requests made.
He expressed happiness about the level of progress made so far on the Kumasi Airport expansion project.
“Phase II include a terminal and terminal building and have added phase III, which includes the runaway and apron. So they are doing it at the same time. The phase II is supposed to be completed around October or November 2021, but because phase III has been added to it, the completion date has been rescheduled to 2022. I had fears that the novel coronavirus pandemic was going to impact negatively on the work, but the contractor and consultant have done well to avoid… incurring project overrun cost,” he noted.
