Ghana: A nation of no health and safety standards-part 1
In this country we live our lives as if we are in a utopian world where everything is so perfect that disasters and emergencies are light years away from us. It is only when disaster strikes that you hear people talking about what should have been done. After all the talking is done, we forget about ourselves and resume the same posture again.
Most accidents that happen on our roads could have been prevented if drivers and commuters are aware of some basic health and safety concepts. It is therefore no surprise that Ghana's road accident record is outstandingly high among developing countries.
It is really irksome to see a car that has broken down on a dangerous spot of road and yet there are no signs of warning. Even the police witness such scenes daily and pass by.
Even the way we build houses does not allow scope for roads where emergency services like fire or ambulance can gain access during fire. People have added unauthorised structures to already approved permits.
These unapproved structures do not only make the towns and cities unkempt but also block access roads. Meanwhile city officials know all this but fail to act. Again, waiting for disaster to strike.
The conditions are even worse at the big markets like Makola, Agbobloshie, Kejetia, Yammronsa, Techiman, etc. Structures have been constructed in a haphazard and random fashion. That is why whenever fire strikes in market centres the inferno is uncontrollable. No insurance company insures stores located in market zones because they consider those places as high risk zones. Moreover, fire tenders cannot access these places in cases of emergency. Electrical connections in these places are poor such that the risk of fire is high all the time.
LIQUID PETROLEUM GASES HAULAGES
Liquefied petroleum gases (LPGs) are one of the most combustible products which means that diligence needs to be exercised whenever anyone is working with them. Last year in Kumasi, there was an LPG explosion which caused a massive fire out break resulting in the burning of houses, cars, other properties and human life.
That disaster could have been prevented if the driver and his assistant had followed the safety process in unloading the LPG.
The neglect of common basic safety procedures harmed the lives of many. This brings to light the role of National Petroleum Authority in making sure that petroleum product transporters are safely transported to their destinations. It appears in Ghana every driver with a driving license can transport flammable substances. There is no training for the driver in relation to what to do in case of an emergency.
In the developed world, in the UK and US for example, health and safety standards exist for all professions from the university professor to the janitor. There is a body that controls and regulates the health and safety of every trade and profession. For example, before someone can be certified to drive and transport flammable materials, that person must sit and pass a health and safety test in that area. Regulatory bodies also must organise regular courses for such people.
TIPPER TRUCKS TURN PASSENGER CARS
Sometimes I am reduced to tears when I see building and road construction companies transporting their workers in tipper trucks. I have seen countless number of them in every regional capital I have visited.
Tipper trucks are licensed to carry goods- be it sand, cement, etc. Whenever, they are carrying passengers and an accident occurs no one with the exception of the driver and those two people sitting on the right hand of the driver will receive insurance compensation.
Are we to assume that the police do not see them? Meanwhile, let a taxi driver take more than four passengers, even an off-duty police officer will arrest him. This perfectly confirms the popular saying that the laws of Ghana are like cobwebs which can only attract insects and not big animals. What a society we live in where things have become so perverse?
BUILDING AND ROAD CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
In Ghana if there is a professional body that effectively controls standards in everything related to its industry, then it is the Pharmacy Council. The rest, I am afraid to say, do not regulate their practice. Meanwhile, members of such professional bodies pride themselves with all kinds of titles like fellows and chartered members.
It is not the title that makes one great but what you do with the title, for a barking dog is better than a sleeping lion. Buildings under construction are collapsing on daily basis but it appears the appropriate professional group is not doing anything about it. May be I should hold brief for them because there is no law that gives them the power to prosecute those who violate standards. How can one build a five storey shopping mall without the services of architects, structural engineers, quantity surveyors or, more importantly, a geo-physicist? In this country, draughtsmen have taken over from architects and the mason has taken over from the professional builder. No wonder Ghanaian buildings cannot stand the test of time.
Employers with workers on big time construction projects like road construction and office complexes do not have their health and safety interests at heart.
Accidents can happen anytime on the construction site. However, personnel protective equipment like hard hats (helmet), steel capped shoes, high visibility vests, eye protection and gloves would reduce the effects of any incidents. The foreign contractors do take the health and safety of their workers in their own country into consideration. However, when they come to Ghana they close their eyes to any eventuality. The reason is that no one can prosecute the company for not providing or making sure that every worker has got personnel protective equipment as part of the essential tools of his trade.
OPEN TRENCHES IN THE CITY
There are many open trenches or excavations in our metropolises, cities and town which have been left for uncountable days. Theses are left without any warning or protection. People accidentally fall into them and some die.
And it is only when someone dies that the trench or excavation is given attention or covered. When an individual or company is paid to do a job and fails to do it, I am of the fundamental belief that that person or organisation should be penalized. The question again is: who punishes such a person?
EDITORS NOTE
The continuation of this article appears next with the way forward. Do not miss the concluding part.
Source: Appiah Kusi Adomako (Leaders of Tomorrow Foundation, Kumasi) - Ghanaian Chronicle
