It is illegal to put up speed-ramps -Minister

Dr Richard Anane, Minister of Roads and Transport on Tuesday said it was illegal for anyone to construct speed-ramps on any road without authority. He said the ministry was planning to put reflectors on speed-ramps to guide motorists to identify such ramps.

Dr Anane was answering questions from Members of Parliament on efforts the ministry was making to curb the alarming rate of road accidents. "Road safety is a multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary issue, which should have a long focus and approach."

The approach should have interactive process of education, engineering and enforcement of traffic regulations to create the awareness for pedestrians and motorists to develop safer road user attitudes.

Dr Anane attributed the high rate of motor accidents to many factors including human error, unsafe vehicle and unsafe roads. To address the situation, he said, the ministry through the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) and with the support of Danish Agency for International Development (DANIDA), has launched a blue print on strategy to adopt for road safety activities to reduce accidents by about five per cent by 2005 and a further 15 per cent by the 2010.

The Minister said a two-year action programme beginning from this year has been designed to build the technical capacity in developing working partnership among stakeholders, to gain a better understanding of road safety.

Answering questions on the road network and repair of broken-down bridges in the Kintampo constituency, Dr Anane said consultants had been selected to carry out design of the Feo-Namon feeder road, Bongo-Balungu road and Beo-Akayonga road for work to begin on them by next year. He said three collapsed bridges in the Bongo District had been earmarked for reconstruction under the fourth phase of the Japanese Bridge Programme.