News
Pedestrians violate road safety rules in Tamale
Pedestrians along the Tamale-Bolgatanga interchange are persistently violating road safety regulations, despite several interventions by the Urban Road and Road Safety Authority.
Following the March 2022 inauguration of the interchange, the Road Safety Authority and the Urban Roads Department identified wrongful crossing points of the road by some pedestrian near the interchange, prompting the installation of a concrete barricade.
But The Ghanaian Times’ has observed that the measure has not curbed the menace.
In interviews, some of the pedestrians cited the distance to the nearest crossing point as a reason for disregarding the barricade.
Some of them conveyed a lack of awareness regarding the significance or intended purpose of the barricade.
Nevertheless, they acknowledged the danger of crossing to the opposite side due to the potential risk of collisions with vehicles using the interchange.
The Northern Regional Director of the Department of Urban Roads, Ing. Kwasi A. Darku, in an interview with The Spectator, said the instalment of the barricade was mainly to stop motorists and pedestrians from using the authorised ways, but they are still ignoring it.
He said several pedestrians have been knocked down by cars leading to death, but people were still ignoring the danger.
“We have provided appropriate route for pedestrians to use, but they still refuse to cross the busy high way,” he said.
Ing. Darku appealed to the Metropolitan Assembly and other authorities in charge to initiate an awareness campaign to educate road users on road regulations to protect themselves from crashes.
The Northern Regional Director of the National Road Safety Authority, Alhaji Abdulai Bawa Ghamsah, also said, the authority after several reports initiated the use of the concrete barricade.
The Director of the Road Safety Authority also said, the department is leading a road safety campaign dubbed “Stay Alive!”
He stated that the department would intensify educational campaigns and engage stakeholders concerning road safety.
From Geoffrey Butah & Paul Mwapouri, Tamale
National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Executive Committee member and Volta River Authority (VRA) Board Member, Wonder Victor Kutor, has described calls for the resignation of Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa as premature and unjustified.
He argued that there was no evidence to establish that the minister had committed any wrongdoing to warrant such demands.
Speaking on Joy News in Accra on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, Mr Kutor questioned what had changed to justify the growing calls for the minister to step down.
He recalled that the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abu Jinapor, had earlier indicated that the opposition was not accusing Mr Ablakwa of any wrongdoing.
Mr Kutor, therefore, challenged those demanding the minister’s resignation to provide fresh evidence to support their position.
“The call for the Minister to resign is premature, it is untenable. There is no evidence. I mean, what has he done wrong?” he questioned.
He added that documents, including boarding passes, airline receipts and flight manifests relating to the minister’s return journey, had been provided.
Mr Kutor expressed concern that the calls for Mr Ablakwa’s resignation could discourage young politicians from speaking out against corruption and advocating transparency.
According to him, politicians should not be targeted or maligned for demanding accountability, warning that such treatment could create the impression that speaking against corruption could later become a liability when one is appointed to public office.
He maintained that calling for accountability and transparency should not be used as grounds to target public officials without evidence of wrongdoing.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Ghana will host the Africa Festival of Arts, Culture and Creatives (AFESTAC) 2026 alongside Industrial Skills Week Africa (ISWA) 2026 in Accra from December 9 to 12, 2026.
On the back of these programmes, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has called on corporate Ghana, the media and the general public to support the initiative through partnerships, sponsorships and active participation.
The events, supported by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), will bring together stakeholders to celebrate Africa’s rich cultural heritage, strengthen the creative economy, promote industrial skills development and create employment opportunities for young people.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
