During a multi-stakeholder engagement on non-functioning traffic and street lights organised in Accra on Tuesday, it came out that 20 traffic controllers and 31 cables had been either stolen or vandalised by criminals in the country’s capital alone.
The situation should worry all Ghanaians because the traffic controllers and street lights form part of road furniture meant to ensure safety to preserve both life and property, and prevent some unnecessary costs.
This means their absence poses safety challenges that must be fixed in good time to prevent road crashes and related matters.
Already, there are certain communities calling for such road safety facilities and are facing difficulty having them because of the country’s financial constraints.
Imagine that the price of just one controller, depending on its capacity, can range from GH¢80,000 to GH¢180,000 and that the cost of replacement is equivalent to undertaking new installation.
It is clear that the Ministry of Roads and Highways and relevant agencies and departments like the National Road Safety Authority and Department of Urban Roads should collaborate particularly with the police to find ways to arrest the nation wreckers who steal or vandalise road furniture.
It is not out of place to appeal to the general public to help though but the problem is beyond ordinary members of the public, particularly for the fact that criminals are involved and can harm defenseless people.
Besides, sometimes members of the public who provide information to security services to go after criminals are later exposed and their lives put at risk.
Therefore, the police must be the principal actors in helping to protect road furniture, including traffic controllers and traffic lights.
We are happy that there is a law that offenders can be made to face.
Our worry, though, is that sometimes the public get the impression that the state fails to make nation wreckers face the full rigours of the law.
Therefore, we are appealing that henceforth everything must be done to hand not only those stealing or vandalising road furniture but other criminals harsh sentences or heavy fines that can serve as true deterrence to others.
It is probable that good members of the public would take a cue from that and begin to help the police and other security agencies to stamp out all manner of crime.
But while we say this, we wish to acknowledge the fact that the carelessness of some drivers and motorcycle riders cause them to crash into traffic and street lights and render them non-functional.
Sometimes, it becomes very difficult to understand the logic of certain drivers who realise their unreasonable behaviour on the road only when they cannot escape arrest or have rendered themselves unable to leave the scene of the avoidable accidents they have caused.
It seems the laws that deal with driving offences in the country are not deterrent enough, so they need a second look and this must be done to check driver misbehaviour in the country.
Matters regarding road safety must be the concern of all because lack of such safety can lead to injuries, loss of lives and property as well as productivity, not to even mention the cost on the state, individuals and families.
