President John Dramani Mahama has firmly rejected demands for the government to fix poor road conditions before enforcing the newly introduced TraffiTech-GH traffic management system, insisting that life-saving road safety measures cannot be delayed.
Speaking in Antigua ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), the President addressed growing pushback from commercial transport operators and motorists who argue that missing signage, faulty traffic lights, and degraded road networks should take priority over automated fines.
Drawing comparisons with international practice, President Mahama dismissed the idea that automated enforcement requires flawless infrastructure.
“I hear they say we should fix the roads before we introduce TraffiTech. It does not work like that. I mean, the roads are not perfect in the UK, yet they have speed cameras,” he said.
The Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service launched the TraffiTech-GH system on November 1, deploying high-tech cameras to capture moving traffic violations and generate electronic notices for vehicle owners. While driver unions have threatened industrial action over the automated fines and operational conditions, government officials stress that the deployment is crucial to curb reckless driving and protect vulnerable pedestrians, particularly schoolchildren.
President Mahama noted that the rollout is taking a phased approach, focusing strictly on speed enforcement for now before expanding to cover additional traffic offences.
“TraffiTech has begun with checking speeding. They have not yet added the other components such as jumping red lights, wrong-way parking and others,” he explained.
Responding to concerns over severe penalties, the President urged Ghanaian drivers to simply adhere to established speed regulations, stating that compliant motorists have no reason to worry about the new camera network.
“If it is too expensive, then do not speed, and so there is a solution to that. The maximum speed in town is 50km/h. However good the road is, you do the 50km/h. If you do that, you are fine, and you will not have to pay anything,” he said.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana