By BAdul R. Bedor Kamara
WARSO President, Madam Diadji Sacko & SLRSA Executive Director, Ibrahim Sannoh
The leading Road Safety authority in the country, Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA) in collaboration with the Transport and Aviation Ministry on Monday 4th October 2021 to 8th October 2021 host the fifteen members States of West Africa Road Safety Organisation (WARSO) 10th General Assembly at the Freetown International Conference Center, Bintumani Hotel, Aberdeen in Freetown on the theme; “Mainstreaming Road Safety in West Africa through Regional Integration” and slogan ‘Save Lives, healthy Lives’.
Ibrahim Sannoh, SLRSA Executive Director called on government to prioritise Road Safety as countries like Ghana and Nigeria the Road Safety Institutions are under the Presidency with task force with the privilege to have subventions as the authority also generated revenue for the State.
He stated that the SLRSA was established in 1996 by an Act of Parliament and this is the 3rd time the country is hosting the WARSO activities including; 2010; 2014 and 2021as Sierra Leone presently occupies the position of General Secretary.
He said that WARSO included all fifteen Member States of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Sierra Leone; Benin; Burkina-Faso; Ivory Coast; Cape-Verde; Gambia; Ghana; Nigeria; Togo; Guinea; Liberia; Mali; Niger; Guinea-Bissau and Senegal.
Inspector General of the Sierra Leone Police, Ambrose Michael Souvula stated that Road Safety is crucial in the development of any country as road crashes are predictable and also preventable.
According to IG Souvula, road crashes has been like an epidemic as the SLRSA was formed out of the Sierra Leone Police Act to minimised road accidents and assured of the Sierra Leone Police support to the authority and WARSO for safer roads in the sub-region.
IG Ambrose Michael Souvula also assured the safety of the delegated stay in the country.
WARSO President, Madam Diadji Sacko of Mali, commended SLRSA and the country as a whole for their hospitality and explained that International Road Safety Organisation is an umbrella body for road safety agencies with the membership of the organisation cutting across the world.
Madam Diadji Sacko disclosed that the idea of creating regional groups for effective co-ordination was muted in May 1985 at Lisbon Portugal with the creation of African Regional group.
According to WARSO President, the main goal of the organisation is the promotion and reinforcement of road safety activities and practices in West Africa through effective management of road safety and traffic matters with a view to drastically reducing road traffic crashes.
She stated that the organisation also encouraged the harmonization of road traffic regulations and norms within the West Africa Sub-region, creation of road safety bodies where they do not yet exist within the West Africa Sub-region and the creation of road safety organisations similar to WARSO in the other Sub-regions of Africa where they do not exist, education and to organise and promotion joint activities for Road Safety (congress, panels, competitions and other events) aimed at increasing the efforts to reduce carnage among others.
She further revealed that the countries are all represented by relevant road safety agencies in those countries as there are four categories of membership status include; Category A – The fifteen (15) countries in West Africa; Category B – Non-governmental organisations; Category C – Volunteers and Category D – Honorary members.
Alex Bhonapha, Deputy Transport and Aviation Minister said that the ECOWAS vision, the movement from ‘ECOWAS States’ to ‘ECOWAS of People’s’ laid a strong foundation for regional integration and the 2050 vision builds on these foundations in laying the road map for more inclusive and sustainable development programmes.
According to Alex Bhonapha, mainstreaming road safety in the sub-region is of ECOWAS Vision 2020 goals; sustainable development in attaining the vision of ECOWAS of People’s requires smart action of mainstreaming road safety as a key pillar of integrating peoples historically, sociologically and economically interconnected by language, common pursuit of good life and prosperity.
Deputy Transport and Aviation stated that road safety issues are in the forefront of the sustainable development trajectory in ensuring that the roads are safe and meet the targets enunciated by global, continental and sub-regional instruments is the enduring mission of the government.
He disclosed that the Ministry is right now implementing a $50M project to enhance traffic flow for both public and private transportation, noting, “in few months, we will have traffic lights and streetlights at busy intersections, street cameras to improve monitoring of drivers behaviour, to also remove decrepit vehicles that constantly breakdown and are accident risks from other road users and replace them with ultra-modern buses”.
Alex Bhonapha further said that the Ministry will established a first response to traffic accidents unit equipped with ambulances and other needed gadgets and well trained first responders that will be housed within the SLRSA and also to improve the traceability of drivers and vehicles by introducing a new biometric driver license as well as motor vehicle registration cards equipped with tracking and GPS technologies efforts aimed at Sierra Leone acceding to the UN and African Conventions and their ratification.
The Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh was represented by the Information and Communications Minister, Mohamed Rahman Swarray stated that Sierra Leone is pleased to host experts in road safety around the sub-region to discuss progress and challenges relevant to Global Road Safety Target 2021-2030, the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in West Africa and the various instruments and conventions on Road Safety including the UN Road Safety Conventions.
Information and Communications Minister, Mohamed Rahman Swarray recalled that Road Safety is a global concern that is why in November 2017, the UN general Assembly by consensus of Member States ratified the Global Road Safety Performance Targets as Sierra Leone reaffirms its commitment to the attainment of the 12 Global Road Safety Targets by 2030 as the 12 performance targets are aggregated under 5 pillars; Road safety management; Safer roads and mobility; Safe vehicles; safe road users and Post-crash response.
He revealed that the government has enacted laws and regulations aimed at ensuring the safety and security of road users and enhancing response mechanism in the event of road accidents as Sierra Leone is among few countries in West Africa with an established Road Safety Authority the encompasses road safety, recognised as a global public health menace as part of its core statutory.
He further stated that SLRSA has identified black spots along the country’s major highways with a view of establishing post-crash centers, equipped with modern first aid paraphernalia and ambulances so as to optimize quick response to accidents and urged corporate, governmental and non-governmental organisations to support the initiative, adding, “attaining road safety and the attendant benefits of decreased fatalities and disabilities caused by avoidable road accidents is intrinsically related to the attainment of the SGDs particular Goal 11.2 speaks of the provision of access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transports systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons”.
According to Mohamed Rahman Swarray, a competitive economy with a well-developed infrastructure could not be attainable in the absence of effective and efficient road safety in Sierra Leone in particular and the sub-region at as goals roads are invariably the catalyst for socio-economic development and proper regulation of road use by the relevant domestic and sub-regional agencies can provide the safeguard against preventable loss lives and limbs on the roads and improve the lives and livelihood of the citizens and ECOWAS residents.
He stated that mainstreaming road safety mechanism in the sub-region would significantly help save lives and limbs among 367 million ECOWAS citizens on the average of 18 deaths are recorded out of 100,000world population number and the population of West Africa vehicular volume stands at two percent compared to the entire world, noting, “it is quite unfortunate that the rate of crashes and fatalities in West Africa stands at 16 percent out of the two percent vehicles compared to the world which means we contribute enormously to crashes compared to the number of vehicles owned by West Africa”.
Internal Affairs Minister, David Panda-Noah and Transport and Aviation Parliamentary Oversight Committee Chairman, Hon. Ambwu Maada Lebby made similar statements and Transport and Aviation Permanent Secretary, Ibrahim Munda Sowa chaired the ceremony.