Ghana, A Country Where People Die Like Animals Daily On Its Roads, A Real Shithole Country!

It is very sad for me to pen down this piece. As a Ghanaian, my frustrations with respect to how our people are dying on our roads like goats being slaughtered daily is very unpalatable!

Statistics about road accidents in Ghana is very devastating. Averagely, 5 people die daily in Ghana through road accident. This sad situation, over the past eight or so years, if not curtailed, can plunge this country into a standstill. Very soon, Ghana is likely to lose the entire energetic workforce through fatal road accidents. Quickly, I want to go straight to my view on how to solve this situation:

1. Dual-carriage on our major highways in Ghana. Major highways linking all the regional capitals must be constructed dual carriage. This will curb the constant head-on collision which has been the order of the day.

2. Take road-safety away from the Ghana Police Service: It is clear, our police service is unrepentantly corrupt and as country, must not continue to leave our safety (life and death affair) with a police man interested in some GHc 2.00 placed inside a license. Truth be told, you cannot plant mango and harvest oranges. Garbage in, garbage out. As far as the police continue to enrich themselves by extorting monies from the drivers at the expense of our lives. Both the MTTD and NRSC have no clue what the hell is going on, and helpless on offering concrete remedy!. A new serious agency must be created urgently to see to that function.

3. Ghana Highways Authority must be collapsed. Ghana Highways Authority is another public liability that needs to be quashed immediately. Repairs on our roads were supposed to be a constant thing. Roads signs and quality roads were all supposed to be supervised by Ghana Highways. Over the years, this particular institution has failed to perform its functions and do not deserve to remain.

I wish to ask politicians, that, for how long can they tell us we are developing, when we cannot feel comfortable moving on our roads comfortably. We are dying, in batches. We are all on a time bomb! Radical decisions to avert this calamity will save this country. Here are few statistics:

• Year 2013: A total of two thousand, and ninety six (2,096) died through accidents and 12,655 persons were injured ( https://www.ghanaweb.com/ …/Over-2-000-killed-in-road-crashe…...)

• Year 2014: : A total of one thousand, eight hundred and fifty six(1,856) Ghanaians died through road accidents that involved 20,442 vehicles( https://www.ghanaweb.com/ …/1856-pedestrians-killed-in-2014-…)

• Year 2015: : A total of one thousand, six hundred and thirty four (1,634) Ghanaians died through road accidents( https://www.ghanaweb.com/ …/Road-accidents-killed-2-198-in-2…

• Year 2016: A total of two thousand, one hundred and ninety eight (2,198) Ghanaians died through road accidents( https://www.ghanaweb.com/ …/Road-accidents-killed-2-198-in-2…)

• First Quarter 2017: Road accidents killed seven hundred and eight ( 708) persons from 4,049 road accidents as of April this year( http://citifmonline.com/ …/road-accidents-killed-708-person…/)

If Ghana continue to lose people profusely daily on our roads this way, I bet you, within the next ten years, we never gona get any country left!

#Rip Ebony Reigns.
# The Shithole must end now!
FRANCIS ESHUN, BSc, Dip. Ed, M.Ed.
President, Prestea Communicators for Development (PCD)