The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD), Initiative for Global Road Safety and Vital Strategies has observed the “2024 World Day of the Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims”.
The commemoration was to sympathise and pray for those who lost their lives, as well as those who sustained various degrees of injuries.
The event, which is commemorated on the Third Sunday of November, each year, took place at the CLOGSAG Hall, Kumasi on Monday to coincide with the release of the “Kumasi Road Safety Report (2023)” to help road safety stakeholders in devising strategies, and also help in decision making to curb the menace of road accidents.
This year’s global event highlights the stories of victims whose lives have been altered due to road traffic crashes, also known as “That Day”.
Data from the Kumasi Road Safety Report (2023) indicated that there has been a drop of 30 percent in road accidents in the Kumasi Metropolis from 2022 to 2023 with 84 fatalities (with over 30 percent being males) constituting 61 percent of road traffic victims.
The report further showed that people of the age group (30-39 years) were the most to lose their lives, constituting 69 percent among other age groups, and that “weekdays” were the period most of these accidents occurred with a rating of 59 percent, with the remainder being “weekends”.
Mr Samuel Pyne, Metropolitan Chief Executive of KMA, in his keynote address noted that “every 24 seconds, a person dies somewhere on the world’s roads, which means that every 4 minutes, 10 people lose their precious lives due to a road crash”.
He announced that road crashes are the leading killer among those aged between 5 and 29 years globally, resulting in economic, social and psychological consequences on families, communities and the nation at large.
The KMA boss emphasised that deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes remain a serious public health concern especially in Kumasi and indicated that the Global Plan for the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety, charts the way forward and urged all and sundry to play a role in making safe, clean, affordable and green mobility a reality.
According to Pyne, the government was leading mobility strategies, including the city of Kumasi that are rooted in good data, backed by strong laws and resources and that would include all sectors of the society.
Mr. Agyenim Boateng, Ashanti Regional Director, NRSA, indicated that the “Remembrance” is to commiserate with victims and also to counsel ourselves to be wary on the road.
He further acknowledged progress in the fight against “road accidents” and urged road safety agencies to do more.
A presentation of an undisclosed amount was made to the accident victims.
In attendance were; Nana Yaw Akuoko, Chief of Sepaase and Otumfuo Assinhene, ASP Fuseini D. Halidu, Representative MTTD, Ghana Police Service and Dr. Chris Oppong, Head, Accident and Emergency Unit, KATH.
From Oswald Pius Freiku, Kumasi
