Henry Quartey
The Greater-Accra Regional Minister-designate, Henry Quartey, has declared his readiness to clampdown on the misuse and abuse of car sirens and strobe lights which allow some drivers to bypass traffic rules.
Regulation 74 (2) of the Road Traffic Regulation 2012 (L.I.2180) provides that a person shall not fit on a motor vehicle a warning appliance other than a type approved by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).
Per the law, a government vehicle used for official purposes by the Head of State (President), police vehicles, motor vehicles used by the Fire Service and an ambulance by a hospital or clinic, a motor vehicle used by other recognized government security agencies and a bullion vehicle registered by the DVLA are permitted to install or use sirens and horn.
Mr. Quartey said the flagrant abuse of the sirens and strobe lights had become a security concern in the region and would do within his power, if approved, to restrict the use to only authorised security and state officials.
Answering questions before the Appointments Committee of Parliament yesterday, the nominee said people who abused the siren would be dealt with according to the law.
He indicated that it was an offence for any person not within the permitted category to install or use sirens and strobe lights, intimating that unauthorized cars enjoying “privileges” on the roads should be stopped since it had become a security issue.
According to him, this and many other issues of security, sanitation, indiscipline and fight against COVID-19 were things on his mind, and appealed to residents of the city to “let Accra work again.”
Mr. Quartey, who is a former Deputy Minister of the Interior, stated that “I will be the Chairman of REGSEC and since this is becoming a security issue in Accra. I will enforce the law.”
On keeping the city clean, the minister-designate said he intended to do his best to keep beaches in Greater-Accra clean, and would do this in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and other sector ministries.
On the issue of crime in the region, Mr. Quartey indicated that the rate of crime itself arose through many components and would collaborate effectively to deal with the phenomenon.
On culture and tradition in Greater-Accra, he said the issues were a major concern because of the cosmopolitan nature of the region and dismissed suggestions that the celebration of Homowo festival “is not fetish and has never been fetish,” except that the processes had not been explained to Ghanaians.
“It’s just like a Passover ceremony. And so there is no fetish about it,” he explained, but admitted that the celebration of the festival had been characterized with a lot of challenges.
“I intend, by the grace of God, to work with the chiefs so that we can bring back…and hold on tight to our culture which is done in other regions.”
By Ernest Kofi Adu