GRi in Parliament Ghana 13 - 07 - 2001
Accra (Greater Accra) 13 July 2001
The government has given the appropriate directives for the establishment of a governing board for the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Authority to make it play its expected role.
Mr Felix Owusu-Adjapong, Minister of Transport and Communications, said in a reaction to statement made in Parliament on Thursday by Mr Stephen Adoma Yeboah, NPP-Dormaa East, on the alarming rate of deaths and accidents on the country's roads.
He said the establishment of the board would remove the responsibility from ministerial control and allow for effective measures to be undertaken to streamline the transport sector.
Mr Owusu-Adjapong commended members for their fruitful contributions and concern saying it was a healthy beginning for the public education on the menace.
Mr Adoma-Yeboah said it was regrettable that road accidents were either pretentiously neglected or the people refused to recognise its devastating effect on the society even though Ghana occupied an unenviable tenth position of the world's motor accident-prone countries.
He attributed some causes of these fatal accidents to unqualified and untrained drivers, carelessness of drivers and mechanical faults of vehicles as well as indiscipline and disregard for traffic regulations.
Mr Adoma-Yeboah said it was clear that human error was normally the main reason behind most of the accidents on the roads.
He stressed the need for driver's re-orientation on road safety measures especially in this period of the replacement of driving licences.
The MP also called on the various transport unions to subject their members to compulsory re-orientation programmes as a precondition for the renewal of their driving licences.
Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, NDC-Fanteakwa, said drivers play an important role in economic advancement but the main concern of all was the mode of acquisition of licences to every Tom, Dick and Harry.
He called for collaboration between the Vehicle Examination and Licensing Department (VELD) and the Motor Transport and Traffic Unit (MTTU) for measures to streamline the issuance of licences and data collection of drivers involved in accidents.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said the MTTU and the VELD should team up with drivers' unions to procure the necessary gadgets to test the level of alcohol intake by drivers plying the routes to help minimise the spate of accidents.
Mr Alex Kwaku Korankye, NPP-Asante Akim South, said it was regrettable that most of the laws in the country were not respected thus making them invalid.
He said most vehicles have defective parts such as faulty breaks and lights while tanker, tipper and articulator trucks drivers use the roads with impunity.
Mr Korankye called for a revisit to the law banning the movement of heavy vehicles in the night to save lives and property.
Mr Mike Hammah, NDC-Effutu, said a major cause of accidents in the country was indiscipline and flagrant disregard for traffic regulations and added that the people need to change their attitude.
He said the Ministry of Transport and Communications should take a second look at the engineering of the country's roads and to collaborate with all stakeholders in the road sector to enforce road regulations.
Mr Ofosu Asamoah, NPP-Kade, said some of the accidents could be blamed on the pasting of campaign and crusade posters on road signs by some Christian churches and politicians especially on the highways.
Mr Francis Aggrey Agbotse, NDC-Ho West, called on the Transport and Communications Ministry to be bold to ban the use of mobile phones by drivers while in traffic since the practice was not only inconveniencing other traffic users but was the cause of some accidents throughout the world.
He said due to the impatience of drivers it has been observed that few accidents occur on roads with potholes as compared to paved roads since drivers tend to drive carelessly and hastily on good roads.
GRi…
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Accra (Greater Accra) 13 July 2001
The Parliamentary Appointments Committee is split on the nomination of Alhaji Moctar Musah Bamba for the position of a Deputy Minister of Presidential Affairs over his inability to produce a certificate.
For the first time in its six months of existence the committee could not convince itself unanimously to recommend for approval a presidential nominee and has rather thrown the issue to the whole House for advice.
Alhaji Moctar Musah Bamba, the nominee, could not convince the Committee that he has a Foundation "A" Accounting Certificate (AIA), which he stated in his curriculum vitae.
A report signed by Mr Freddie Blay, Chairman of the Committee and laid before the House, said when Mr Bamba reappeared before the committee to ascertain the veracity of his claim that he possessed the certificate, he claimed his efforts to trace the document proved futile.
The report said, Mr Bamba recounted in detail how he left the certificate in the care of his uncle in Nigeria, who died about eleven years ago and that he also did not care to look for it when he entered commerce.
It said, "he indicated further that all efforts to trace the certificate had since proved futile as the personal effects of the late uncle had not been kept intact after his death.
"In the circumstance, the committee considered the possibility of securing a confirmation from the awarding institution but could not proceed further as members realised that the said certificate was awarded over twenty years ago by the AIA. Moreover, the index number could not be traced as well.
"The committee realised that the nominees undertook his studies in a private institution, the files of which were burnt in a students' demonstration."
The report said the majority of the committee members decided to recommend the nomination of Mr Bamba to the House for approval because the certificate was not a requirement for the appointment.
Those opposed to the view said the nominee had not been forthright with the committee and for that matter they could not recommend him for approval.
The report, however, said Mr Bamba has "a lot of organisational and managerial abilities beside being a successful businessman".
The committee in another report recommended the approval of four nominees to be appointed as deputy ministers.
They were, Mr Kwaku Agyeman Manu, Transport and Communications, Mr John Bennam Jabaah, Manpower Development and Employment, Mr Sofo Alex Seidu, Roads and Highways and Ms Sophia Horner-Sam, Western Region.
The House would consider the approval of the nominees next week.
GRi…/
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Tamale (Northern Region) 13 July 2001
The Front for the Promotion of Democratic Governance (FPDG), a non-partisan political pressure group, on Thursday called on the electorate to monitor the activities of their MPs and vote them out in the next elections if they are seen not to be performing their assigned duties.
The FPDG condemned the continuous absence from Parliament by some MPs without any reasons.
A statement signed by its General Secretary, Mr Iddrisu Musah Superior, said MPs who cannot attend parliamentary sittings to articulate the concerns of their electorate must resign and allow the people to elect new representatives.
The group called on the leadership of Parliament to device a mechanism that would ensure that members attend sittings regularly.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra) 13 July 2001
Mr Prince Oduro-Mensah, NPP-Tano South, on Thursday asked banks to help accelerate rural development.
"If banks in Ghana are to make their impact really felt in national affairs, they have to double their support and contribution to rural development."
The member was making a statement in Parliament to commemorate Commonwealth
Banking Day, which fell on Thursday.
"With 60 per cent of employment coming from rural agriculture, the potential of Ghana in industry and export promotion lies in massive investment in the rural sector of the economy", he said.
Mr Oduro-Mensah said although it was not profitable to invest in agriculture because of the high interest and lending rates, banks should sacrifice a little and extend funds to the rural economy.
"It should be possible for banks to collectively fund the cost of feeder roads, school, water projects, electrification and markets. This can be done within the context of strategic models like Village Infrastructure Project (VIP)."
He praised the Ghana Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered and the Social Security Bank and rural banks like Nsuatreman and Fiagya for helping rural communities.
GRi…/
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