MP Defends Amendment of Road Traffic Regulation
The Member of Parliament of Asante Akim North, Hon Andy Appiah Kubi, has defended the move by the Parliament of Ghana to amend some portions of the Road Traffic Regulations 2012, LI 2180.
The amendment among other things privileges lawmakers and Ministers to fit a siren or a bell as a warning appliance in their vehicles and insulates them from the speed limit.
The amendment has since been opposed by the Bureau of Public Safety as well as other individuals; however, addressing the press in Parliament Hon Appiah Kubi said it will enable Members of Parliament and Ministers to effectively execute their mandate in a timely manner without road traffic hindrances.
According to him, they will be able to meet deadlines and avoid repercussions.
“I was privileged to have joined Executives for the last four years in the first term of President Nana Akufo-Addo and I know the shadow of works that Ministers go through and how they postpone meetings outside Ministries trying to finish their regular job in office and get confronted with limited time to reach the next destination for the next official duty. You subject such people to the conditions of traffic on the road, they cannot meet the deadlines and therefore it is imperative for us to give some access to them to be able to meet the deadlines.”
He noted that this privilege as enjoyed by some Article 71 Office holders ought to be extended to all members.
“Let us not forget {that} if deadlines are not met, it goes to undermine the performance of such public officers or Ministries or institutions to the detriment of the expectations of the general public. If there is any justification in giving special access to any of the Article 71 office holders, then it is presumed that all the Members of the Article 71 Office holders ought to be given the same access in the discharge of their duties then we can expect that productivity will improve because they are not impeded on the road.”
He further made reference to instances where some Ministers and legislators were arrested for violating the road traffic regulations while trying to meet the deadline and make it to the Parliament.
“We have witnessed cases where some MPs, State Ministers and even some judges have been arrested on the road because they are trying to meet their work schedule and when you go to the police, the Attorney General and the IGP, they say they implemented the law as given and so can’t help the situation. The remedy is to amend the law to make it lawful for people like that to have special access when necessary.”
