The Member of Parliament (MP) for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has reacted to a gory accident at Nsawam Mobil in the Eastern Region on Monday afternoon which claimed the lives of five persons.
The legislator speaking on the floor of parliament on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, said he was lost for words after visiting the scene on Monday.
The Majority Chief Whip commended the Police and Ambulance Services for quickly moving to the scene to manage the situation.
He described the accident as tragic and commiserated with families who lost their loved ones.
The lawmaker said the incident was a ”black Monday at Nsawam yesterday”.
He said the cry of his residents are not just cries of pain but also acute calls for road safety and greater expectation on road users to exercise caution in the use of roads.
The MP said although the location of the accident was not a common one, frequent users of the road cannot deny the fact that it is one of the sections which have a questionable status in terms of its safety.
”The very junction is typically chaotic since no traffic lights are present to control the flow of vehicles. This is simply unsafe and unacceptable. It is regrettable that an accident takes place before any substantial action is taken. I believe we will not be justified in our roles if we do mo make us of the space given us by Ghanaians to upgrade the call for necessary roads safety measures.”
He stressed that road accidents should not be attributable to the failure on ”our part to provide road amenities where they are needed”.
He underscored the need for authorities to hasten their efforts to assess and instil the important road infrastructure for safe usage in the area.
”We cannot continue to wait for such tragedies before we are seen doing the needful. To be clear, as has been pointed out by many inhabitants of Nsawam, an assessment of the situation at the Nsawam Total Filling Station intersection on the Nsawam-Kumasi stretch and intersection of the Mobil junction at the Nsawam township must be made for the provision of a traffic light.”
He added that stricter measures to ensure safety, should be employed to disallow trailers, trucks from plying these roads.
On his part, the Mpraeso MP, Opoku Ansah, recounted his experience with a road accident on that stretch of the road.
According to him, he has encountered two accidents on separate occasions on that stretch.
In his view, these accidents have also been a result of indiscipline on the side of drivers on that stretch.
He said: ”that road is a highway, but you will have taxi drivers negotiating curves, moving in directions that are not good. Sometimes you have vehicles moving at a top speed, and you are forced to slow down because of indiscipline on the part of a driver”.
He called for intensive education to help reduce accidents in the area.
The Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu commenting on the issue extended his condolences to families who have lost their relatives.
He asked the MP to provide further details since the house was a house of records.
To him, the deaths were avoidable, adding the DVLA and other stakeholders to work together in ensuring discipline on our roads.
The Roads Minister Mr. Amoako Atta added that lack of maintenance also causes road accidents.
He said the scientific study has proven that 98% of road accidents are human factors including drunk driving, overspeeding among others.
First Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei Owusu who presided indicated that the refusal by drivers to respect road regulations contributes to road accidents.
He said we must admit that permitting markets on our roads contributes to these avoidable incidents.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
