207 BUSES, OUR NEMESIS

Ghanaians are like the proverbial scavenging bird which constructs its nest anytime the rain falls. In fact, this attitude and institutional inertia must stop if the country is to make any head way.
Anytime there is a public hue and cry over certain developments, those in authority seem to follow public opinion and immediately react by putting in place certain ad hoc measures to deal with the situation.
However, as soon as the tempo subsides, the previous situation returns, without anything seriously happening or being done, typically depicting our attitude that “Ehuru a, ebedwo”, to wit, “no matter the extent to which water is heated, it will still become cold”.
Several factors account for this type of indiscipline which manifests in the various facets of the national economy, be it at the level of the executive, legislature, judiciary, media, on the roads, in hospitals, educational institutions and so on. Indeed, the list is endless.
And it is about time bold steps were taken to once and for all nip this growing national canker which is gradually eating deep into the country’s fabric in the bud.
Our lead story today makes startling revelations about the practice by garages at the Suame Magazine of converting 207 Mercedes Benz cargo trucks to passenger vehicles.
So soon we seem to have forgotten the carnage on our roads involving these same 207 Benz buses until last weekend when another bloody accident involving a 207 Benz bus occurred on a bridge over River Offin.
According to the mechanics, the remodelling involved, among other things, elongating the chassis of the vehicles and converting them from single to double tyres to enable them to take more passengers.
As is usual with us, officials of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), when contacted on the issue, indicated that they had consistently refused to register or renew the road worthy certificates of such vehicles when they were converted from cargo to passenger vehicles, as well as those with defective rear brakes.
Road accidents involving 207 Benz buses have become very alarming and the law enforcement agencies in the road sector, such as the DVLA, the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), the courts and the various transport unions, must be seen to let the law have effect and bite.
The Daily Graphic is throwing this challenge because of the way the enforcement of the laws in this country has been handled.
We should not close our eyes to the bad ways of doing things. Certainly something must be done about the indiscipline in the country because it is assuming a monstrous dimension and nothing seems to be working perfectly.
What is the essence in wasting the taxpayer’s money on the numerous campaigns when the same laws that are crafted by our legislature are not enforced? The Daily Graphic thinks that the time has come for Ghanaians to collectively do something about our attitudes and let the law work for the betterment of the country. This lawlessness must be tamed, particularly on our roads, through a partnership to enforce road safety.
We encourage the public institutions charged with educating motorists to intensify their activities to share knowledge and provide advice on good practices in road safety. This coalition should act as a pressure group to compel the government to deliver on the interventions necessary to make travelling by road safe and without anxiety.