Editorial
Let’s be careful on our roads
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Road crashes have claimed the lives of many since the year began and the current incessant accidents which occurred on our roads make the situation worrying.
One leaves the house with the hope of returning but unfortunately this becomes a mirage as the person’s life is shortened or is maimed for life through road accident.
Between January and August this year, reports say that Ghana has recorded 1,585 deaths on our roads. This involved 15,459 vehicles, 1,638 pedestrian knockdowns and 9,397 injuries.
These figures were revealed by the Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Mrs May Obiri-Yeboah, who noted that the figures were higher compared to that of last year within the same period. She, however, noted that there had been a reduction in pedestrian knockdowns within the same period.
Although accidents cannot be predetermined, ensuring safety on our roads is key and this must be tackled urgently by involving all stakeholders to play their roles to push forward NRSA’s ‘Arrive Alive’ campaign which aims at zero accidents on our roads.
Precious lives are lost during road crashes and most of these victims are in the productive age. The repercussion is that productivity suffers and this affects families and the nation as a whole.
The negligence on the part of drivers, especially commercial drivers who mostly drive carelessly and ignore speed limits, violation of red lights, coupled with bad nature of roads, rickety vehicles, and worn-out tyres are some of the causes of accidents on our roads.
Notwithstanding that, the NRSA has revealed that most of the accidents occurred on flat and straight roads, meaning speeding and other factors played a major role.
Besides that, wrong overtaking, non-observance of road signs, drinking of alcohol prior to driving and tiredness which leads to sleeping behind the steering wheel are also factors of road accidents.
Most passengers refuse to prompt the driver when he is speeding, and this negligence affects innocent lives.
In fact, some spare drivers are not experienced and this must be discouraged. The transport unions must ensure that commercial drivers are professionals who possess the requisite licence before the person is allowed to drive.
Recently, there was public outcry on the need for pedestrian footbridges at vantage points on some highways but it is sad to note that some pedestrians have neglected the footbridges and zebra crossings, instead they have resorted to crossing major roads amid speeding vehicles at their peril. This must be checked by the law enforcement agencies and the appropriate sanctions meted to offenders to deter others.
The bad roads should be fixed regularly, with major and minor potholes filled to ensure smooth driving. Road contractors should mount speed ramps at vantage points to check speeding in communities.
Unnecessary competition among drivers as to who gets to his destination early should be avoided to prevent accidents. Those who travel on either short or long journeys must set off early and drive within the speed limits in order to get to their destinations safely.
As the election approaches and the end of the year draws nearer, The Spectator entreats all pedestrians and drivers to be disciplined on the road. Motorcyclists who do not wear their helmets should desist from that to save lives.
Award systems should be instituted to give a special package either quarterly or monthly to drivers who drive professionally.
Transport unions should collaborate with some organisations to institute measures that would check the behaviour of commercial drivers and their vehicles and organise refresher courses for drivers to upgrade their skills.
The NRSA should also intensify its road safety campaigns by collaborating with the media to sensitise the public for a positive change in attitudes towards road safety in the country.
All hands must be on deck to ensure zero accidents on our roads. Let’s be careful on our roads.
THE natural skin of a child is delicate and needs protection. However, a very disturbing trend is emerging in our homes, where mothers and other caregivers are using harsh soaps, skin-lightening creams and even oral medications to tone down the skin of their babies.
“A baby is not a beauty project,” as public health nurse Mr Jonathan Kwame Quarshie of the Ho Teaching Hospital so urgently cautioned.
According to Mr Quarshie, it is medical abuse to subject a developing child to harmful substances in order to meet an arbitrary aesthetic ideal.
The truth is that children are not miniature versions of grown-ups. Their skin is much thinner and more susceptible to chemical absorption. So, when a caregiver applies lightening creams to a toddler or makes them take over-the-counter medications that promise to bleach them “from within”, they are exposing a vulnerable system to chemicals.
These products may contain hazardous ingredients such as mercury, a heavy metal that can penetrate the skin and affect the kidneys and central nervous system, potentially causing neurological damage and other serious health complications.
Again, the products may contain corticosteroids and hydroquinone, substances that can damage the skin’s natural defences, resulting in persistent bruising, skin thinning and other health complications, particularly when used inappropriately.
When a child is exposed to these serious health hazards for the sake of a lighter shade, an innocent human life is being treated like a laboratory experiment. It exchanges the health of a child’s internal organs for a transient, shallow and extremely harmful standard of beauty.
The consequence is that child bleaching can leave physical scars, but the psychological damage is equally severe. The underlying message is obvious when a parent bleaches a child, especially young girls who are most affected by this social pressure.
Before the next generation is old enough to comprehend it, we are infecting them with a virus of self-loathing. A child will struggle to develop a healthy self-image if raised to believe that their natural complexion is a problem that should be chemically eliminated. They are being taught to perceive an enemy when they gaze in the mirror.
Mr Quarshie’s cry is that “Every shade deserves protection,” and this means that every child is entitled to safe care. The Spectator agrees that this message must be forcefully echoed by society.
We should be mindful of the fact that a tube of illicit bleaching cream or an over-the-counter pill cannot provide true treatment. What children need is a healthy diet, age-appropriate hygiene and unwavering love.
We propose that a qualified medical practitioner should be consulted if a child has a legitimate dermatological problem rather than resorting to risky cosmetic procedures.
It is the responsibility of parents, extended families and communities to create an atmosphere in which children are valued for their inherent beauty, health and vitality.
We do not need to make our children lighter. They must be safeguarded, loved and given the opportunity to develop in the lovely skin they were born with.
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Dear Editor,
I am writing to state my opinion on the recent directive by the Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to make land available within their respective areas for the construction of waste transfer stations across the country.
The MMDCEs are expected to carry out the directive within 30 days as the government aims to improve solid waste management.
From where I stand, I feel it is a very good move, but my only concern is whether all the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies can meet this directive.
Clearly, some assemblies are small in size, with every available space already occupied by existing facilities.
The siting of these facilities must also not be too close to human settlements.
This is important because, if care is not taken, a decision to solve a major problem could result in another issue, such as a disease outbreak, due to the proximity of the facility to residential areas.
In implementing this directive, we must not revisit the era when people woke up to find huge rubbish containers behind their walls and buildings.
I also wish to add that, in solving the waste problem, the government could take a second look at the operations of private waste collectors using improvised vehicles (Aboboyaa).
Their operations have two sides. They help communities by collecting heaps of rubbish left behind due to the failure of registered waste collection companies to provide adequate services.
However, these operators also contribute to littering in communities as rubbish falls from their overloaded vehicles onto the ground.
Perhaps the government could consider providing them with better vehicles to enable them to do their work more effectively and complement the efforts of established waste collection companies.
Mercy Agyemang, Labone
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