TEMA ROAD USERS UNPERTURBED (PAGE 29)

The decision by the National Road Safety Commission to deal with the recent carnage on the country's roads has been received with mixed feelings by some concerned road users in Tema.
This is because the commission’s branch office in Tema had not functioned for the past one year.
Some people the Daily Graphic spoke to said the Tema Road Safety Committee had organised educational campaigns in schools, communities and lorry parks to create awareness about how drivers and pedestrians should behave on the road.
They were of the view that Tema was strategically situated by the motorway , Akosombo, Ho, Ada and Aflao roads, which made road safety critical as far as the recent spate of accidents were concerned.
When the Daily Graphic correspondent went to the offices of the committee, the doors were locked and there was nobody in sight.
A member of the committee, Mr Joshua Amfo-Adu when contacted, confirmed that for the past one year, the committee had been inactive .
He explained that the over 23 member stakeholders who were supposed to form the committee had dispersed because of lack of logistics.
Mr Amfo-Adu said the office did not have equipment to work with and besides, some members had sacrificed over a period to run the office with their own money.
He said although the job was a sacrificial one, the work of the committee needed funds to move around considering the scope of the Tema region.
Mr Amfo -Adu said various transport unions had supported the committee by offering venues for driver education.
He appealed to the National Road Safety Commission to consider the need to revive the committee in Tema to enable drivers in the region to gain from their expertise .
Mr Amfo -Adu also urged the Tema Regional Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), to involve the committee in its exercises through which drivers would be given tit-bits on road safety.
The representatives from the health sector, the Ghana Private Road Transport Union ,Tema Development Corporation , Tema Metropolitan Assembly and all other drivers unions were members of the commission and that they had for a long time promoted road safety in the region from their own resources .
Mr Amfo -Adu said it was time road safety education was stepped up to raise drivers’ awareness of it.
When contacted, Mr P. G Ofori-Ansong also a member of the Tema Road Safety Committee confirmed the state of despondency the commission found itself in Tema.
He said it was pathetic that the office had to be closed down and called on the National Road Safety Commission to respond to the numerous letters written to it for support.
Mr Ofori -Ansong said the carnage on the roads could be minimised through constant education at all levels because it would serve as a reminder to the drivers anytime they were behind the steering wheel.
As it stands, there is no Road Safety Committee working in Tema apart from the activities of the MTTU.