Accra, April 5, GNA—The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has lauded Mr Henry Quartey, Greater Accra Regional Minister, for ensuring discipline and adherence to the laws of Ghana within the Region.
The Authority has also called on the Minister to become an advocate of road safety within the country.
The commendation was given on Tuesday when the Authority paid a courtesy call on the Minister in Accra.
Mr Jeremaine Nkrumah, Board Chairman, NRSA, said the Authority had taken note of the zeal of the Minister towards curbing haphazardness in the Capital.
He said the acknowledgement being accorded to the Minister would serve as an encouragement to other regional ministers to do their best to drive development in the nation.
Mr Nkrumah said 16,000 new vehicles were registered every month which accounted for over 500 new vehicles being registered daily.
He said with road networks not expanding much, Accra had become the epicentre of the quagmire, accommodating about 40 per cent of all vehicles in the country.
Mr Nkrumah said Ghana represented 2.2 per cent of Africa’s population and yet its citizens drove 6.7 per cent of vehicles on the continent.
He said the country also accounted for about 1.5 per cent of road accidents and 1.2 per cent of road works on the continent.
The Board Chairman expressed concern over the minimal attention being given to the Authority, adding, “the National Road Safety Authority is a forgotten entity. People only remember us when there is a ghastly accident.”
He said the Authority had plans of rolling out an App called the Public Eye Enforcement Program (PEEP) to encourage citizens to keep an eye on motorists and report any infractions on roads.
Mr Nkrumah said any citizen whose report or video evidence led to the successful prosecution of an offender, would receive a percentage of whatever fine imposed on the culprit.
Mr David Osafo Adonteng, Acting Director-General, NRSA, said the road crash menace in Ghana had not been the best, however, the Authority was doing its best to fight the canker.
Mr Quartey thanked the Authority for the recognition and acknowledged members of his team and the Media for the support given him to achieve such successes thus far.
He said for him, “every word from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo is law,” hence his unwavering commitment to achieving his vision of making Accra the cleanest city in West Africa.
The Minister appealed to the NRSA to help with the enforcement of laws on roads, particularly amongst tricycle riders, adding that full enforcement would commence after the Easter celebrations.
Mr Quartey said the motorway was a major concern to him and even though his outfit had conducted several exercises on it, there were several unapproved roads that were linked to it, creating danger, daily for motorists and pedestrians.
He appealed to corporate bodies to sponsor or fund some of the activities being carried out by the Region.
The Minister said they would also engage the Ghana Education Service to task Circuit Supervisors in the various schools to inculcate the habit of the discipline into students.
GNA