Four DCEs in Road Crash - a Wake Up Call

We extend our heartfelt sympathy to the four District Chief Executives (DCEs) in the Northern Region, who were injured and said to be in critical condition, after they were involved in a road crash at the outskirt of Tamale, the Northern Regional capital, on Monday.

The four DCEs whose names have been given as Abdallah Mohammed Hashim, Mion; Issah Musah, Gusheigu; Abdulai Yakubu, Nanumba North and Ahmed Abukari Iddrisu, were said to be travelling in one official vehicle, from Tamale to Wa, to lend support to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as he launched the Rearing for Food and Jobs, last Monday, in the Upper West Regional capital.

It is quiet unfortunate that they missed out on such an important assignment, due to the accident as a vehicle veered off its lane and crashed into the car in which the DCEs were travelling.

Similarly, we express our warm sympathy to the occupant of the other vehicle and wish him a speedy recovery.

The Ghanaian Times is aware the stretch is in good condition and there is the tendency for drivers to overspeed, which should be a matter of concern to all of us.

This reminds us of the constant need to use the seat belt to ensure the needed protection in case of road crash.

Certainly, the temporary absence of the DCEs from office would have negative consequences for their districts, because they would not be available to give directives and take critical decisions for the day-to-day running of their areas.

We reckon that there are equally good working staff to hold the fort, while the medical authorities work around the clock to restore their health and get them back to their feet to continue their work.

It is our humble suggestion to the authorities to adequately resource the Tamale Airforce Station so that personnel can easily airlift officials to important assignments within the region, as well as respond to emergency situations, in view of the seemingly unsafe road transportation and the difficult terrain in the north.

On countless occasions, we have had to devote our editorial comments to issues of road safety, and impress on road users to exercise maximum care to make road transportation safer than what we are experiencing now.

Undoubtedly, road transport is the commonest means of transport and highly patronised in Ghana because it is cheaper as compared to air transport that may not be affordable to low income earners.

Our railway system is also not well-developed to give people viable alternative means of transport.

As a result, there is pressure on road transport, resulting in all manner of problems, making travelling in Ghana unsafe.

As long term measure to make our roads safer, we call on government to commit more resources to dualising major roads in the country, as a measure to help reduce road crashes in general and head-on collision in particular.

As we sympathise with our DCEs and pray for their speedy recovery, we reiterate that road safety is a shared responsibility and we must all join in the crusade to make our road transport system much safer.

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