Group urges national dialogue on suspended towing levy

An appeal has been made to the government to move quickly to ensure a national dialogue on the suspended mandatory towing levy to fine-tune its implementation.

Advocates for Social Intervention Ghana (ASIG), a civil society organization, said there needed to be extensive consultation and stakeholder involvement.

The appeal was contained in a press statement issued and signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Arthur, in Kumasi.

It said it found it deeply upsetting the needless controversy and excessive heat over the policy, adding that, the pain and suffering that broken down trucks, left unattended had been causing could not continue.

ASIG suggested that the daily road toll paid by road users could be adjusted        to take care of the towing.

“We do not think it would be too much asking everybody to make a small sacrifice to prevent lives being lost and other people suffering deep cuts, broken bones and permanent disability.”

It also called for the government to focus priority on the training of safety inspectors to operate from the various lorry terminals.

These inspectors, it said, should be charged with the responsibility of carrying out proper inspection of every vehicle that leaves the lorry terminal to hit the road to make sure that it has clean bill of health – safety devices functional.

Again, it urged a scale-up of both safety education and enforcement of road traffic regulations, saying, the careless disregard for the law by drivers and other road users must end.

It asked that offenders were made to face appropriate sanctions to help restore discipline and some level of sanity.

Steps should also be taken to fix bad roads and to see to it that the roads have clear markings and signs on them.

Source: GNA