The National Insurance Commission (NIC) has joined forces with the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) in a swoop in the Eastern Region to clamp down on vehicles with fake motor insurance policies.
The exercise climaxed a nationwide Training of Trainers (ToT) and orientation programme organised for top Commanders and senior Police Officers of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department within the 18 administrative regions of the Ghana Police Service on the Motor Insurance Database (MID).
The MID which was launched in 2020 was to check insurance stickers in the system.
As part of the exercise, out of the 120 vehicles stopped and inspected by the two organisations, 20 were found to have fake insurance and were immediately provided with an insurance policy.
Addressing participants at the event, Dr Justice Ofori commended the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, for ensuring that the Motor Insurance Database (MID) worked.
“The use of the MID for enforcement on our roads has not only provided support to the insurance industry but I believe it is also helping the Police in their road traffic investigations with the view to protect innocent lives and property. Drivers and vehicle owners have become more cautious and no longer susceptible to the modus operandi of fraudsters,” he said.
He stressed that the recent spate of road crashes had become a major concern for Ghanaians.
“As stakeholders, the Police and the NIC can only work together to help minimise the canker of fake insurance and also to ensure that adequate compensations are paid to affected victims through valid insurance claims,” Dr Ofori, said.
He said available statistics from the Police MTTD indicated that January and February 2022 saw a reduction in the number of deaths on our roads which stood at 469 as against 517 recorded the same period last year.
The Director-General of the MTTD, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Francis Aboagye Nyarko, commended the NIC for its commitment and resolve in continuously supporting the Police in the enforcement of the Road Traffic Act 1958.
“As a result of our partnership with the NIC, there has been a great improvement in our road traffic policing. The Commission has been our old time stakeholders and sponsor. They have been assisting us a lot in terms of training programmes to make sure that we bring a level of sanity on our roads. There has been a monumental improvement in terms of traffic management,” he pointed out.
He said the objective of the programme was to expose the MTTD commanders to be in the position to understand, interpret and enforce the dynamics of the MID in the discharge of their duties in supervisory roles.
COP Nyarko said the training covered an overview of the MID and how to use the GoTa phones to detect fake insurance stickers, and review of operational activities on the enforcement of the MID.
