New Juaben South Assembly to fine road traffic offenders

The New Juaben South Municipal Assembly has instituted a GHc100 and GHc150 fine for drivers and vehicle owners who flout road traffic regulations.

Majority of residents living in the town have complained about indiscriminate parking of vehicles which causes unbearable traffic in the Eastern Regional capital, Koforidua.

The New Juaben South Assembly aims to decongest the central business district of Koforidua to allow free traffic flow with this move.

It is spearheaded and enforced by a combined team of the military, police, fire service personnel and city guards

In an interview with Citi News, the Municipal Chief Executive Officer, Ike Appau Gyasi, said he is determined to ensure that recalcitrant drivers are severely dealt with to serve as a deterrent to other lawbreakers.

“The New Juaben South Municipal Assembly is determined to collaborate with all stakeholders to ensure that our city is clean and sane. What I realized when I took over as the MCE was that the town Koforidua has become congested and there was no justification for that. So I quickly called all the stakeholders including the military, police, fire service, city guards and my management, and I told them we need to stand up and make sure we clear the streets and ensure the right things are done”.

“A town like Koforidua from Effiduase to the city centre should not take motorists and commuters more than 5 minutes; but sometimes people spend more than one hour in traffic, and it is totally unacceptable, so after our meeting, we have put together a task-force comprising of police MTTD, military and city guards”.

Isaac Appau Gyasi indicated that the task-force and the information department used a week to sensitize drivers, union operators and residents in the city before enforcement.

“We used one whole week to educate the taxi drivers, trotro drivers, union groups and private vehicle owners because we realized that the private drivers and shop owners always want to park their vehicles in front of their shops and it also contributed to the congestion. So we also educated them, the information went around the whole city informing vehicle owners to move their vehicles to the Jackson Park instead of parking indiscriminately on the streets.”

“We have begun the exercise, and I will make sure we sustain it and make sure our city is kept clean and free from unnecessary traffic which is the vision of our President Nana Addo. Any recalcitrant driver who parks his or her vehicle at an unauthorized place shall have the vehicle towed, and fined GHC 100.00 for smaller cars and GHC 150.00 for big cars; and it is going to happen including private vehicles”.

He added that, “it will not be business as usual, nobody will be spared in this operation because we are going to use the proceeds for development projects which will include face-lifting some poor roads in the municipality; and I believe this will also serve as a deterrent for other drivers. You cannot just park anywhere and feel you are above the law”.

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By: Neil Nii Amatey Kanarku | citinewsroom.com | [email protected] | Ghana
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