WHERE ARE YOUR MEN, MTTU? (OCTOBER 23, 2007)

A FEW weeks ago, the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service cautioned unauthorised people against controlling traffic in the city of Accra.
The unauthorised people were described as criminals who, sometimes, robbed at gunpoint, pilfered and demanded money at the expense of the safety of motorists.
That caution was accompanied by a declaration by senior police officers of the MTTU that they were going to help address the traffic situation by improving on the supervision of personnel detailed to control traffic, especially at traffic intersections.
It has been three weeks since but traffic in the city is still choked and the unauthorised traffic wardens are still at post, flaunting the leaves, demanding cash from anxious motorists eager to make good time and, perhaps, still robbing and pilfering. So, if we may ask: Where are the MTTU men who we were told, in no uncertain terms, would handle the traffic situation?
Indeed, days following that declaration, the city has even recorded a surge in the number of leaf-wielding self-styled traffic wardens and as the nation prepares to host the rest of the continent in a month-long soccer fiesta — the African Cup of Nations tournament, otherwise known as Ghana 2008 — it would be unsavoury to advertise such unprofessionalism in traffic control.
Clearly, the acting MTTU Commander, Superintendent Solomon K. Ntim, has an arduous task at hand. His recent call for the deployment of personnel of the Community Protection Unit (CPU) shows some amount of desperation in the face of a situation that is obviously getting out of hand.
But it is a call that lends itself to many questions and lays bare the fact that we are still not committed to addressing the situation professionally.
While the police may have a case in that the service has over-stretched personnel, it may clearly be an assault on basic tenets of professionalism for people who may not have the relevant skills and authority to control traffic in our increasingly traffic-prone city. Clearly, that may spell more chaos, instead of addressing a pressing development challenge.
There is the need to recognise that in the event of controlling traffic, police personnel have to deal with breaches of traffic regulations and other crimes and that is why it made a lot of sense to bar unauthorised people.
The DAILY GRAPHIC calls on the police to face the situation head on and avoid the temptation of acting desperately or adopting measures that, at best, can be described as ad hoc; measures that have the potential of festering more disorder and indiscipline on our roads.
With growth in the economy and many people moving into middle-income status, it makes sense to reason that many more people are going to own cars and motorists, commuters and pedestrians will have to contend with traffic jams.
That calls for the institution of appropriate policies to effectively address this challenge, not only in the short term but also the long term, with the active engagement of very professional and well-motivated personnel.