The Member of Parliament for Sagnarigu, Alhassan Bashir Alhassan Fuseini, says the proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 are needless and will be rejected.
According to him, the privileges outlined in the new legislative instrument are “absolutely unnecessary.”
“Anybody who has the sense of the mood of this country would be the last to be talking about cutting exclusive areas for those of us who are political actors. What do I need a siren for? To go where? Where are you in a hurry to go?”
“I think that, look, we should be very sensitive to the interests and aspirations of our people and to be sensitive to where the country is today,” A.B.A. Fuseini told TV3 on Monday, July 15, 2024.
There is a growing public outrage over the proposed law that seeks to amend portions of the Road Traffic Regulations, 2012.
When passed, the law will allow Members of Parliament, ministers of state and other officials use siren and also exempt them from prescribed speed limits.
But the Sagnarigu MP insists the proposal is not the right direction.
“I can tell you without an iota of doubt that if this thing comes to the floor of Parliament, a lot of us are going to oppose it, because it’s not in the interest of the country and it is not even in the interest of us as political actors.”
“It is not in our interest, and I think we should decipher and understand the mood of the country and go along,” he further noted.
The Kenyan example
The MP likened the current situation in the country to the recent deadly protest in Kenya.
He expressed fear of a likely protest in Ghana should this law be allowed to pass, “because when you push the people to the brink and they have nowhere else to go, they will turn back on you.”
“I’ve been warning and serving notice to our fellow political actors that if we are not careful, the scenario that was enacted in Kenya will be worse here,” he stated.
Government justification
Despite the raging debates on the issue, the Member of Parliament for Asante Akyem North, Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi, has defended the new Legislative Instrument (L.I.) seeking to allow key government officials use sirens and speed at any limit.
Mr Appiah-Kubi says the work of legislators, ministers and judges are time bound and must be carried out early enough to meet national demands.
He was reacting to concerns raised about proposed amendments to Regulation 74 of L.I. 2180 which will now permit the fitting of sirens on specific classes of vehicles, including those owned by justices of the Supreme Court, Members of Parliament and Ministers of State.
According to him, there must be a way to reduce the stress of such officials who endure long hours in traffic on a daily basis.
“I know the schedule of work that ministers go through and how they postpone meetings outside ministries trying to finish their regular job in office and be 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. Such people cannot meet the deadline and therefore it is imperative for us to give some access to them to be able to meet the deadline,” he told TV3 in an interview on Monday, July 15, in Parliament.
The Bureau of Public Safety (BPS) has demanded that the Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, immediately withdraws the Bill on speed limit exemptions for Members of Parliament and Ministers.
BPS has also expressed concern over the amendments made to the Road Regulations Act LI 2180, which was subsequently laid before Parliament.
Source:onuaonline.com