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The Ghanaian News March 2012
EDITORIAL KEEPING YOU IN TOUCH WITH NEWS FROM HOME AND LOCAL COMMUNITY ISSUES
EDITORIAL Publisher / Editor Emmanuel Ayiku Contributing Editors Dr. Michael Baffoe Joe Kingsley Eyiah Director of Operations Comfort Ayiku Community Reporter Jonathan Annobil Winnipeg Bureau Dr. Michael Baffoe
The Ghanaian News Publishes news and comments from the Community, serves Ghanaians across Canada with good source of information is committed to give good community Journalism The Ghanaian News is published in Canada by The Ghanaian News Corporation
Editorial Office 2256 Sheppard Ave. Suite 202 Toronto, Ont. M9M 1L7 Tel:(416) 916-3700 Advertising Fax (416) 916-6701 Internet: www.ghanaiannews.com E-mail: cayiku@gmail.com Subscription costs $89.95 for one year. $129.95 for two years. U.S. and foreign subscriptions costs US$120.00 per year.
Letters to the Editor We encourage your feedback and value your comments. Please feel free to write to us. keep letters to a maximum of 200 words, include your full name, Telephone # and mailing address with all correspondence. Address your letters to the Editor The Ghanaian News 2256 SheppardAve. Suite 202 Toronto, Ont. M9M 1L7 Tel: 416-916-3700 or Fax: 416-916-6701 or e-mail us at afrocan@afrocan.com
Articles appearing in various columns of the Ghanaian News are intended to generate civil and informed public discussions. You do not have to agree with opinions expressed by the writers. That should encourage you to write to express your own views. This is the way we generate lively and civil discussions in the community. Rejoinders are not forums for personal insults and we want readers to adhere to these principles.
Saluting the City of Edmonton for the Honour As part of activities marking Ghana’s 55th Independence Anniversary, the City of Edmonton, capital of the Province of Alberta in Canada decided to honour Ghana with a Proclamation of March 2012 as “Ghana Month” in the City of Edmonton. We devote our Editorial piece to this recognition event and gesture from the City of Edmonton for a number of reasons. That City has a long history of ties with Ghana. It was one of the first Cities in the British Commonwealth that offered opportunities in the immediate aftermath of Ghana’s Independence, for a number of Ghanaians to study in Universities in Alberta especially at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Many of such students returned to assist in the building of the young, emerging Black Star of Africa from the early 1960s. Others stayed and some later returned and have contributed a lot to the building of the Province of Alberta. There are a number of Ghanaians in very senior positions in the political and economic life of the Province of Alberta. It is gratifying to note that people of Ghanaian origin who live in Alberta have discharged and distinguished themselves very honourably. This proclamation and recognition from the City of Edmonton is also a strong indication of the respect and confidence that one of the largest Canadian Municipalities and for that matter the Province has for Ghana. The proclamation underscores the leadership and shining roles that Ghana has played and continues to play in post-colonial Africa. It makes reference to the peaceful political transitions in Ghana “without plunging the country into war” as our other neighbours have sadly chosen to do on a number of occasions. This is a strong message that we should all take seriously and be proud of as Ghanaians. And it is an image that we should all strive and vow to uphold and protect. In the 55th year of our Independence, in the year that the City of Edmonton has bestowed this honour on our dear nation, our country will be embarking on another political journey: Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in December 2012. It is the responsibility of all of us to ensure that these political events pass smoothly and peacefully to justify the honour that other countries, institutions and municipalities, including the City of Edmonton, have bestowed on us. We salute the City of Edmonton and its Mayor for this honour. We also salute the Ghanaian-Canadian residents of the Province of Alberta and of the City Edmonton through the leadership of the Ghana Friendship Association of Edmonton for conducting themselves honourably in that Province and City. Long Live Ghana! And Long Live the Ghanaian-Canadian relationships!
Opinion/ Commentary By Kwabena Akuoko
Boosting Road Safety in Ghana is a Collective Responsibility Every year, horrendous, but preventable mishaps are recorded on Ghanaian roads resulting in the tragic deaths of many people. This sad reality is evidenced by the Motor Transport and Traffic Unit of Ghana Police Service’s recently released sombre statistics, which indicates that as many as over 20,000 precious lives were accidentally claimed on Ghanaian roads during the past decade alone. The Ghana Police Service’s report is also collaborated by the National Road Safety Commission’s (NRSC) data, which states that a whopping 125,857 of all kinds of road accidents occurred in our country between 2000 and 2010. According to NRSC, these accidents resulted in over 63,000 serious injuries to victims. Given Ghana’s population of 24 million people, it is no brainer that 125,857 road accidents and the loss of more than twenty thousand lives within a decade or 2,000 per year through preventable accidents are simply outrageous and unacceptable. By all means, this is certainly a serious concern, but public policy response to this epidemic seems to be muted. Ghanaian authorities need to recognize the problem as a grave public health crisis and come up with comprehensive and preventable policy measures to combat this growing trend. Understandably, accidents could occur anywhere and at anytime, but most road accidents in Ghana are preventable and as such, even one lost life is one too many. It is imprudent for us to pretend that the problem is minimal or non-existent and will somehow dissipate if ignored. Ghanaian roads have increasingly become death traps and so many precious lives are routinely and needlessly lost, therefore it is long overdue for the authorities to come up with far-reaching measures to deal with the problem. It is unfortunate for so many people to perish on our roads in such a high proportion through something that is highly preventable. This calls for all road users, including passengers and pedestrians to be on
the lookout to help ensure that they, and of course all drivers respect road traffic regulations. The simple, yet important questions that need to be asked are: what are the major causes of all these road accidents and most importantly, what can be done to avoid the resultant increasing levels of the obvious mayhems? Many factors are simply responsible for many of the senseless killings on Ghanaian roads. Arguably, over speeding, drunk driving or driving while under the influence of mood altering substances, roadunworthiness of many vehicles operating on the roads as well as blatant disregard for traffic rules and above all, lack of sound driver education among the driving public and poor traffic rules enforcement regime among others are predictors of fatal road traffic accidents in Ghana. Also, many of these accidents are attributable to poor driving skills and lack of common sense on the part of those who are not qualified to drive, but have elected to do so anyway. Many people operate vehicles in Ghana without even the required driver’s license. Also, some people refer to themselves as drivers due to the simple fact that they can move a vehicle from a parking gear to a few metres away. Similarly, there is a poor knowledge of traffic rules and regulations among Ghanaian motorists and that certainly is one of the major causes of road injuries and fatalities. This therefore calls for a thorough incorporation of sound driver education into the licensing system so that only those who are rigorously tested and determined to have the skills to operate vehicles would have the privilege to be drivers. This will also allow the citizenry to realize that driving just like in many jurisdictions around the world, is a privilege and not a right. In addition to effective driver education, strict traffic rules enforcement regime is of critical relevance in order to markedly reduce injuries and fatalities on our roads. In a similar vein, since speeding is strongly a con-
tributing factor to the problem, implementing preventive measures to ensure lower speed levels on the roads will reduce the annual number of people killed in accidents significantly in our country. Also, future measures should concentrate on preventing head-on collisions, off-the-road accidents and those involving nonmotorists. This too calls for general public education around road safety. In this regard, an effective public education campaign analogous to the August 4, 1974 nationwide safety campaign before, during and immediate aftermath of Ghana’s switch over from lefthand drive to right-hand drive is crucially necessary. Such nationwide campaign will significantly educate drivers, passengers, pedestrians or the general public about road safety in order to help reduce avoidable accidents. Reinvigorated national road safety campaign and driver education are conduits through which a clear message can be put across that all citizens have a responsibility to ensure that they do not become victims of road accidents. Passengers and pedestrians for instance need to be educated to identify and avoid passenger drivers who exhibit poor driving skills, make poor judgement such as unnecessary overtaking and speeding as well as those who drive while impaired. Most road accidents, which result in serious injuries and subsequent disabilities or deaths, are highly avoidable. It takes individual and collective efforts and responsibility to ensure that our roads are safe. Ghanaian motorists must have deep respect for traffic rules and the Ghana Police Service’s personnel must also live up to their professional responsibilities in enforcing traffic laws effectively. Finally, Ghana led the way in 1974 when it had one of the safest changes over from lefthand drive to right-hand drive. There is no reason why we cannot employ similar safety measures again to avoid or reduce carnages on our roads.