Ag. IGP commends Citi TV for War Against Indiscipline campaign

Ag. Inspector General of Police, James Oppong-Boanuh, has commended Citi TV for the ‘War Against Indiscipline’ campaign aimed at ensuring sanity on the country’s roads, to ostensibly reduce road accidents.

The exercise, which begun in May this year with on-air campaigns before hitting the roads, educated motorists on their responsibilities, and encouraged Ghanaians to send in videos of errant drivers who were named and shamed on Citi TV.

The exercise took the nation by surprise in June this year, when it partnered the Ghana Police Service to arrest errant drivers, process them for court and have them fined.

So far, half a million Ghana cedis has accrued to the state after fines were slapped on over 500 recalcitrant motorists.

The offenders included Members of Parliament, security officers, foreign nationals, and Ghanaians from all walks of life.

The Ghana Police Service has also earned praise of the public for the professional conduct of its officers in the #WAI campaign.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, DVLA, and the National Road Safety Commission, have both partnered the year-long campaign.

The management of Citi TV and authorities of the Ghana Police Service, held a strategic meeting today to deliberate on the successes, challenges and projections of the campaign.

The police among other things explained that based on the troubling statistics on road crashes involving motorbike riders, they would now turn attention to recalcitrant Motor Riders in the next phase of the War Against Indiscipline campaign.

Impressed with the results of the campaign so far, and the pragmatic strategies to sustain it, the Ag. Inspector General of Police, James Oppong-Boanuh, heaped praises on Citi TV for the innovative campaign, and pledged the support of the Police Service to sustain it.

Motorbike accident statistics

In 2017 for example, official statistics from the National Road Safety Commission indicated that, deaths from motorbike accidents increased by 100 percent, while commercial motor riders consisted of about 25 percent of the total incidents recorded within the period.

Director-General of the Police MTTD, COP Christian Yuhuno, clarified that the exercise will not necessarily target commercial motor riders (okada riders), but every undisciplined motor rider including courier service riders.

Already, an exercise by the Accra Central Police MTTD has led to the arrest of one hundred motor riders, who according to the Commanding Officer in charge Accra Central MTTD, ACP Andersen Fosu-Ackaah, have been processed for court.