By J. K Nabary
Kasoa (C/R), July 16, GNA – The Lights for Life Social Change Movement (LLM), a project in partnership with UniMac University of Media, Arts and Communication is advocating for duty bearers to raise up and fix on functioning streetlights in Accra and Kasoa to save lives.
Ms Salamatu Issah Zin-Mara, students’ leader from UniMac University, championing the project, made the call in an interview with the Ghana New Agency, after engaging residents in Kasoa on the need for them to report faulty traffic lights in their areas immediately.
“Traffic safety is everyone’s responsibility,” she stressed.
Ms Zin-Mara said thousands of people travelled on the roads everyday with the expectation to arrive safely, but across Accra and its surrounding communities including Kasoa, many traffic lights had remained faulty for months, even years, posing danger to everyone.
She said: “What should be guiding traffic now creates confusion, what should protect lives now puts lives at risk for drivers, pedestrians, school children and families adding every faulty traffic light is more than a broken machine, it is a silent danger waiting to claim another victim.
“We are students executing the LLM project which is a 25-Day advocacy programme in Accra and its surrounding towns including Kasoa, focusing on making roads safer by pushing for timely repair and maintenance of traffic lights.”
Ms Zin-Mara said the vision of the LLM was for safer roads, efficient traffic management through working traffic signals, and to advocate for functional traffic lights and educate people to get involved in reporting faulty lights.
According to her, many traffic lights in Accra and Kasoa were malfunctioning, switched off, or poorly maintained and due to inadequate maintenance, power cuts, vandalism, and slow reporting there were confusion, accidents, congestion, delayed emergency services and higher risk for pedestrians and drivers.
Ms Issah Zin-Mara said the goal of the project was to raise awareness and advocate for repairs to improve road safety and reduce congestion, targeting 4,000 people, as well as to educate and encourage them to report, engage authorities to promote safer road use and to build support for routine maintenance.
“Our Advocacy Strategy is to engage City Authorities and Road Agencies directly to prioritize repairs, hold stakeholder meetings, sensitising drivers, pedestrians, commercial drivers, youth, students and community leaders on the dangers of faulty lights,” she said.
She announced that said as part of their advocacy they were encouraging residents and citizenry to identify and report faulty traffic lights in their areas, to help avoid loss of lives saying, the issue has been lingering on for too long adding, when traffic lights were not working, people find it very difficult to easily cross this road.
“Hence, we are advocating for authorities to critically look at the issue and to put in place a system to address the root causes at fixing faulty and damaged lights on the streets to be safe once again,” she added.
GNA
Edited by Alice Tettey/Benjamin Mensah