Municipal/District Assemblies urged to mainstream Road Safety Issues in Developmental Agenda

Municipal and District Assemblies have been urged to mainstream road safety issues into their developmental agenda to assist in curbing the spate of road accidents in the country.

Members of the Upper East Regional Road Safety Committee made the appeal during a meeting aimed at brainstorming and strategizing on how to help curb the spate of road accidents in the Municipality, especially during the forthcoming general election and the Christmas festivities.

The members advocated that the National Road Safety Commission cannot alone tackle the problems associated with road safety and appealed to the assemblies to complement the Commission's efforts by providing finance and logistics to tackle the problem.

The members indicated that one of the major causes of road accidents in the Municipality was the indiscriminate manner in which many articulator trucks parked along the roadsides causing accidents and inconveniences, and appealed for a parking lot so as to put an end to the anomaly.

They appealed to the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly (BMA) to hasten the processes of the land they had acquired from Tidongsobeligo, near Bolgatanga for the construction a parking lot.

Members of the Committee also expressed worry about the springing of drinking bars along the road, which resulted in double parking and motor accidents.

They asked the Assembly to write to the owners of drinking bars asking them to re-locate and to ensure that it was done.

Members also appealed to the departments of Urban Roads and Highways to help ensure that the municipal traffic lights, which has been out of order for sometime now, but has not been restored.

They entreated the assembly to acquire a towing vehicle to tow away vehicles that parked wrongly on the roadsides in the Municipality and its surroundings.

Mr. Alexander Ayata, Upper East Regional Manager of Road Safety Commission, said apart from the 1,600 people who lost their lives annually in Ghana through road accidents, those accidents also cost Government about 160 million dollars, which represent 1.6 per cent of the National Gross Domestic Product.

He explained that road safety was a shared responsibility and appealed to all stakeholders and the general public to get involved in the road safety exercise.

He appealed to leaders of the various political parties to help avoid accidents during the upcoming election, and asked drivers to also exercise caution and abide by road safety regulations.

As part of the road safety week in the region, members of the Road Safety Committee would embark on road safety walk, talks in Mosques, Churches and Lorry parks, and also visit accident victims in the Hospital.