CONCERTED EFFORTS NEEDED TO CURB ACCIDENTS (PAGE 29)

The Chief Executive of the Ghana Shippers Council, Mr Kofi Mbiah, has called for concerted efforts at curbing the high rate of accidents on the country’s roads.
He said it was sad and inexplicable that the country lost more than 1,800 productive and skilful humans through road accidents in a year, with corresponding cargo loss averaging $165 million.
Speaking at the Road Cargo Transport Education Forum in Takoradi, Mr Mbiah said the present haulage system must give way to a well-organised system.
He explained that the organised system should enable haulers to build a strong financial capital for owners to retool, modernise their fleet and re-engineer their operations.
The forum was to educate drivers on the importance of adhering to the required axle load allowed on the country’s roads and its socio-economic importance to the nation and transporters/haulers.
The chief executive said the high rate of loss of lives and cargo through road accidents was unacceptable and needed to be curbed by attitudinal change and firm adherence to the required loads.
He said the time had come for those in the industry to take a good stand and ensure that the current sorry state of the haulage industry was reversed.
“Our neighbours within the West African sub-region are taking measures to check overloading on their roads,” he said.
He, therefore, urged transporters/haulers to be mindful of those developments by respecting the axle load limits currently being enforced on the country’s highways.
Mr Mbiah said the role of road cargo transport in the distributive trade of the economy could not be overemphasised.
“It is the main mode of transport for imports and exports through our ports,” he said.
For that reason, he said, it was imperative that road transport was given a high level of attention to promote an efficient operational chain.
He stressed the need for efficiency in the logistics chain which was dependent on its functioning as a seamless web.
Mr Mbiah said any break in the chain caused disastrous and catastrophic consequences to human lives and cargo on board, the owner of the vehicle, the cargo owner and its associated linkages that the transport sector created.
He said it was appropriate for the shippers council and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority to decide to use education as the key to ensure adherence to safety issues.
The forum was attended by major players in the industry, such as the National Road Safety Commission, the police, etc.