The Chief of mission from the Ministry of Transport, Endenda Atsama Gregoire and his team came to Bamenda on a working visit to get proposals that will pave the way, to establish a law on road safety, while sanctioning defaulters.
Road User, Participant
After a brief exchange with road users and getting the challenges they face on the road, the team sort proposals on how to best ameliorate the situation, so that transporters can ply the roads without any accidents.
"The main problem is usually the fraudulent ways in which road worthiness certificate are being issued to drivers or transporters. The method most drivers go through to get their car documents is the main problem because most of them do so behind close doors". Nji Nelson, road user said.
The intension of the working visit was to get the views of transporters in the North West region, to discuss issues that cause road accidents. The discussions was meant to facilitate the voting of a law, to be passed in Parliament relating to road accidents.
The Importance of the Road Safety laws depend on road users and transporters, reason why the national transporters syndicate decided to send a delegation to the North West to collect data from the transporters.
Chief of Mission talking to Press
Regional Delegate, Transport, Northwest Region
The team acknowledged that there are good text to sanction in any case of accidents. The Northwest Regional delegate of Transport, Che Ngong Gilbert believes preventing road accidents is a collective action.
Sensitizing road users than instituting repressive measures, according to Participants was a more sustainable way to manage road challenges; accidents, overloading or over-speeding.
"Usually these security persons on the way called routier don't so their job. When a vehicle is passing, they only whistle collect some money and let the car continue, whether it was on high speed or not, their interest is not on the road checks" A Participant complained.
Over 16,583 road accidents have been registered given the wrong use of road signs or over speeding, killing more than 1000 people, with over 6000 affected as per the World Health Organization in 2018.
Road users are called to denounce drivers malpractices on the highway, respect highway code or road signs. While the hierarchy concerned is called to ensure that the road signs engulfed by grass by the road side, be made visible for transporters on the highway.
By Ndefru Melanie
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