The Director-General of the National Road Safety Commission, Ing. May Obiri Yeboah, has paid a working visit to the Savannah region to acquaint herself with the happenings in the area.
Ing. May Obiri Yeboah first point of call was at the Savannah Regional Coordinating Council (SRCC) where she had a fruitful discussion with the regional minister Saeed Muhazu Jibril, the Coordinating Director, Yaw Adu Asamaoh and some staff of the SRCC.
Ing. May Obiri Yeboah appealed to the minister and SRCC to help the road safety commission settle well to assist in the implementation of road safety and it’s related activities.
The Director-General stated there was need to minors and children engaging in commercial tricycle operations in the region and appealed to the SRCC to provide office and residential accommodation to the road safety staff to ease their burden.
She said her outfit will soon embark on a massive road safety campaign to educate drivers, riders and road users alike, about the road safety regulations to help save lives and properties in the Savannah region.
The Savannah regional minister, Saeed Muhazu Jibril, on behalf of the SRCC, assured the commission that very soon the new SRCC office accommodation complex under construction will be completed.
The road safety commission will be provided with an office accommodation to help them function well.
He commended the commission’s regional office for the good work done so far and urged them to continue with it. He was particularly happy with the continuous weekly radio education and sensitization program on Damongo based Community Radio Station, Radio PAD 95.1, on the need to obey road-user laws to reduce accidents.
He acknowledged the works of the commission so far and appealed to them to do more despite the challenges.
Mr Muhazu Jibril said very soon issues about office and residential accommodation will be nipped in the bud because the construction works for the new offices are on course and structures handing over will be done immediately the contractors end their job.
Ing. May Obiri Yeboah and her team later visited the regional police command to interact with the police.
At the police station, she said the use of tricycle by minors in the region is increasing and something must be done immediately to curb this.
She proposed a vigorous campaign or sensitization program for at least six(6) months and then begin to enforce the laws afterwards if people fail to obey.
The regional police commander, DCOP Larbi Enoch, Public Relations Officer Inspector Agyekum and some staff received the road safety team.
The police Commander suggested that in order to curb the rising road accidents in the Savannah region, they should be “mandatory transport rest stop” for drivers or road users who travel over 500KMs. This will help road users or drivers rest for sometime before continuing their journey.
Savannah region was the 4th highest in road accidents ranking in the year 2020.
He said such vehicles that travel more than 500kms are not from the Savannah region and suggested that they must have two (2) drivers to prevent accidents, lost of lives and properties.
“These drivers drive all the way from Accra, Kumasi or Bawku. By the time they get to the Savannah region, they get tired, hence resulting in accidents in the region, most especially the Buipe-Tamale-Kintampo high way”.
Ing. May Obiri Yeboah promised the two institutions will work together to avert the numerous road related accidents. She was there on Thursday 8th July, 2021.
The members of the commission’s team include the director for Research and Monitoring Evaluation, Martin Owusu Afram, Road Safety Savannah regional director, Alexander Ayatah, Elizabeth Nartey, Personal Assistant to the Director General, among others.
The team visited on Thursday 8th July, 2021.
