Our attention has been drawn to an article posted on Ghana web’s general news column of 1st January 2013 headed ‘OPEN LETTER TO THE MTTU BOSS’ we therefore seek to make some clarifications and also correct certain uninformed conclusions made by the writer.
The Police MTTU Command had always respected media freedom and constructive criticisms and will continue to do so, however, for the sake of fairness and objectivity it is always important to set the records straight when necessary.
The Police MTTU appreciates the writer’s concern with regards to traffic congestion in Accra and believes the write-up was done without any malice. The issue of traffic congestion in Accra and other major cities in the country is gradually becoming a social nuisance which the Police MTTU has taken note of and is working around the clock to reduce its negative effects.
The writer touched on a very important topic which is traffic congestion but failed to look at the issue broadly; without considering remote factors and challenges.
Ensuring free flow of traffic has become one of the core functions of the Police MTTU and it remains a top priority of the Command led by ACP Angwubotoge Awuni. Practically, the overstretched MTTU personnel cannot cover all the intersections within the metropolis due to limited human resource. What we usually do, is to cover the most critical areas and make some mobile teams available using either motor bikes or normal vehicles to respond to distress calls. It is also important to note that traffic control or management is just one of the core functions of the Police MTTU; we are actively engaged in road accident investigation, road traffic law enforcement, protocol/special duties and safety awareness activities.
The writer mentioned Police absence on the road between the hours of 5pm - 8pm; I beg to differ because the MTTU Command makes sure all the sensitive intersections are policed during both the morning and evening rush hours. In the evenings personnel at certain strategic areas sometimes manage traffic till 11pm (Nkrumah circle).
The writer also mentioned Police focus on unregistered vehicles during enforcement; the Police have always been strict on the use of trade and foreign registration plates by vehicles due to its security implications and the blatant abuse of its use. Every criminal would like to commit an act without been noticed and mobility is essential in most criminal acts, criminals prefer unmarked or unregistered car or motor bike for their nefarious activities to make tracking difficult, more over these vehicles are not certified by DVLA to be road worthy and therefore the law do not permit such vehicles to be used for certain activities, example, exceeding the required two (2) passengers, for weddings & funerals, without log book and many other infractions.
On the issue of personnel integrity, they are always cautioned to act professionally and desist from acts that will tarnish the image of the service, the Police Administration has constituted a special unit (PIPS) within the service to investigate unprofessional acts by personnel and culprits are punished accordingly.
Looking at some of the remote factors of traffic congestion, I believe the issue of road infrastructure, broad public transportation system, and increasing vehicular population; City/Town planning, traffic cameras and many others should be considered in the analysis of the current traffic situation to improve free traffic flow and also deter road users who indulge in irresponsible practices.
The Police MTTU will take a second look at the areas mentioned by the writer in its operational strategy and also ensure total commitment in the performance of our mandated task. But will be unable to tackle the issue of *‘’* *hand shakes’’ *if they continue to have bleating allegations without substantial evidence to bring perpetrators to book.
Thank you for the space.
AUTHOR: INSPECTOR SIMON TENKUU
PRO/POLICE MTTU-ACCRA
TEL. O302662386- ACCRA
