The Roads and Transport Committee of Parliament is advocating for a substantial increase in budgetary allocation to the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), citing the urgent need to address Ghana’s rising number of road traffic accidents.
The call was made during a familiarization visit to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the NRSA as part of the Committee’s tour to assess the operations of key institutions under the Ministry of Roads and Transport.
Speaking during the visit, the Vice Chairperson of the Committee and Member of Parliament for Sawla/Tuna/Kalba, Hon. Chiwitey Dari Andrew, expressed concern over the high number of fatalities caused by road crashes.
“We have accidents occurring and people are dying—more than HIV/AIDS—and yet our attention is elsewhere. We need to pay more attention as a country. If we need to give the NRSA a good budget, as a Committee we have to push for that,” Hon. Chiwitey stated.
He stressed that while the DVLA plays an essential role in licensing vehicles and drivers, the NRSA is at the frontline of saving lives and must be prioritized in funding allocations.
“You license and we go out, then we carelessly kill people. We’re talking about roadworthiness and all those things, but those are not the things that protect lives. You can have a brand new vehicle that is roadworthy, but it can still kill ten people,” he added.
Hon. Chiwitey also stressed the lack of grassroots education on road safety and called for increased use of local radio stations and community committees to raise awareness. He urged the NRSA to be adequately resourced to extend its outreach to district levels, where the impact of education campaigns could be more direct and lasting.
“If we empower local committees with funding and resources to intensify education, we can minimize the accidents we complain about,” he emphasized.
The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Isaac Adjei-Mensah, supported the Vice Chairperson’s remarks and called for reforms that would allow the NRSA to generate and manage its funds.
He proposed legislative amendments to ensure that revenue from safety inspections and related services flows directly to the Authority, enabling it to operate more independently and effectively.
“We need to repeal the current law or find a way that the NRSA can get money directly. The current model, where funds go through the Road Fund, ties their hands,” Hon. Adjei-Mensah said.
He also proposed the introduction of a safety levy or similar charge on vehicle inspections to support the NRSA’s activities and the establishment of NRSA offices in every district to improve oversight and enforcement.
In response, the Acting Director-General of the NRSA, Mr. Abraham Amaliba, welcomed the Committee’s support and announced that the Authority is in the process of finalizing a Legislative Instrument (LI) to enhance its regulatory mandate and operational efficiency.
He revealed that two major initiatives – Traffictech-GH and Transport Ghana – are set to be rolled out as part of the NRSA’s strategy to reduce accidents through the use of technology and improved regulation.
“These programs are designed to tackle the country’s growing road safety crisis and will take effect once the necessary LIs are passed. We are doing some of these things little by little, but we may need to fast-track them because of the serious state of our road safety situation,” Mr. Amaliba said.
The Committee reiterated its commitment to supporting reforms that will empower the NRSA and ensure safer roads for all Ghanaians.