Features
Vehicle inspection for safety on roads
Recent fatal road accidents brought to my mind many issues, as I tried to think about the causes for such unfortunate incidents and loss of lives.
Of course, one of the oft-cited causes for road accidents is human error on the part of the drivers (over-speeding, dangerous overtaking, drunk driving, tiredness/sleeping at the steering wheel etc.).
One can also typically hear people attributing road accidents to the nature of our roads, such as the bad nature of the roads; to others, one of the best solutions would be to widen our major highways into dual-carriage ones with two or more lanes.
Of late, I have been thinking about vehicle inspection and roadworthiness of vehicles on our roads.
Vehicle inspection is a procedure mandated by nations or agencies of governments in many countries. In this procedure, a vehicle is inspected to ensure that it conforms to regulations governing safety, emissions, or both.
It is regulated by law and you will face a penalty if you break that law.
Usually, an inspection can be required at various times, for example, periodically or on transfer of ownership to a vehicle (see also www.wikipedia.org).
Vehicle inspection in Finland
In Finland, someone cannot drive a car on the road if that vehicle has not been inspected during the specified period for inspection, according to the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (TRAFICOM) (see www.traficom.fi).
During the regular inspections that are carried out at specific intervals on vehicles, the condition of the vehicle is checked and the data entered in a register.
If your vehicle fails to pass the inspection test, you will need to have the faults and defects that were identified in the vehicle during the inspection repaired as soon as possible.
After the repairs, you will need to take your vehicle again for a follow-up inspection within a month of the inspection.
I must say that usually Ghanaian/African immigrants in Finland do not miss their appointed times for their vehicles to be inspected.
Various points of inspection
There are many points where a vehicle owner can go after booking an appointment date/time in order to get the vehicle inspected.
The vehicle inspection points can be within the vicinity of where one lives, which means that vehicle owners can find it easy to go for their appointed time without much trouble.
Moreover, a vehicle inspection site must be granted a licence in order to practise the profession of inspecting vehicles.
Technology and digitalisation
The technologically-advanced world enables accurate information to be gathered and retrieved with very fast and easily.
The Finnish vehicle inspection procedure is supported by a well-developed technological system for recording information about data on vehicles that have gone for inspection, whether they passed or failed.
Everything is digitalised, which means that the data or records are stored electronically. A well-developed digital address system helps matters.
Learning from Finland
We in Ghana can learn from Finland and other advanced countries to establish an effective vehicle inspection procedure.
I do not know if we have such a mandatory vehicle inspection procedure in Ghana. If we have, maybe all we need to do is to enforce that law, that is, if not being enforced already.
If we don’t have such a mechanism of regularly requiring vehicle owners to take their vehicles for inspection then I recommend that our authorities to visit Finland and understudy their system. We can even import their expertise in this field, I dare say.
The digitalisation and integration of records that the government is pursuing can help a lot.
To me, a vehicle inspection procedure in Ghana can have the possibility to reduce road accidents since it will ensure roadworthiness and safety of the vehicle on the road.
Let’s start thinking about this. Thank you!
By Dr Perpetual Crentsil
Conflict at work is more common than you might think. According to 2022 research by The Myers-Briggs Company, more than a third of the workforce reports dealing with conflict often, very often, or all the time in the workplace.
Addressing a dispute might feel tense or awkward, but resolving the conflict is typically well worth it in the long run. Whether you are trying to mediate conflict between colleagues or are directly involved. Last week we looked at three and this week is the remaining four steps you can take to manage workplace conflict.
4. Find common ground
The best way to handle workplace conflict is to start with what you can agree on. Find common ground between the people engaging in conflict. If you are directly involved in the conflict, slow down and focus on results instead of who’s right.
If you are the mediator for conflict resolution between coworkers, observe the discussion and help point out the common ground others may not see.
5. Collectively brainstorm solutions
When deciding how to handle workplace conflict, it can be tempting to problem-solve on your own. Sometimes, it feels easier to work independently rather than collaboratively. However, if you want to achieve a lasting resolution, you will need to motivate your team to get involved.
Brainstorm possible solutions together, and solicit input from everyone involved on the pros and cons of each option until you settle on a solution that feels comfortable to everyone. This will help all team members feel a sense of ownership that can help prevent future conflicts.
6. Create an action plan
Once you have created an open dialogue around workplace conflicts, it is time to resolve them. Just like any other work goal, this requires creating a concrete plan and following through.
Create an action plan and then act on it. It does not matter what the plan is, as long as you commit to it and resolve the conflict as a result.
7. Reflect on what you learned
All conflicts offer an opportunity to grow and become a better communicator. Identify what went well and what did not.
Work with your whole team to gather learnings from the conflict so you can avoid similar situations in the future.
Today, I continue with my narration of personalities and their accomplishments as members of the Ghanaian Diaspora in Finland, with a focus on Mr Joseph Osei Amoah.
Mr Amoah is one of the senior members of the Ghanaian community in Finland and a top member of the Ghana Union Finland, an association of the Ghanaian migrant community in Finland.
He is an active and a well-respected person in the Ghanaian community in Finland. Mr Osei Amoah moved to Finland in the mid-1990s, and he has lived in Helsinki all this time.
Accomplishments and honours
It is important to recount accomplishments as part of the success stories of the personalities of Ghanaian descent in Finland in order to highlight their exploits both within the Ghanaian migrant community and in the wider Finnish society.
Mr Amoah holds a Master’s degree in Demography from the University of Helsinki. At the time he came to Finland in 1994, he had majored in Economics at the Bachelor’s level at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Sometimes affectionately called “Chairman” in the Ghanaian migrant community, Mr Osei is a former Chairman of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) branch in Finland, assuming office around 2015, a few months after the branch was formed, until 2019 when he did not run again for the elections. He helped to bring vibrancy into the NPP Finland branch.
Religious life
Mr Amoah is a prominent member of the Global Methodist Church in Finland. In spite of his busy working life and other responsibilities, he remains a committed member of the Global Methodist Church in Finland.
He plays a key leadership role in the church, which is attended by many Ghanaian migrants and other African migrants, Finns, and those of other nationalities.
His position in Asanteman Finland
Mr Osei Amoah is an outstanding member of the Asanteman Finland, where he is the Gyasehene, a prominent position as a sub-chief in the Asante (and Akan) royal hierarchy, in the functioning of the traditional authority systemgenerally in Ghana.
The Asanteman Finland is an association formed purposely with the aim of supporting each other as well as to ensure unity among its members and others outside of the group.
One of its top priorities of Asanteman Finland is to display the Asante culture in Finland. Mr Osei Amoah finds this as very important since by upholding the traditional culture and heritage, the association enables its members and especially the young ones to get the chance to learn and appreciate Asante and Ghanaian cultural values. They do this through rites such as marriage, the naming ceremony, and death and funeral rites, which makes the people to learn more of their provenance and not forget their origins.
“My point is that, by displaying the traditional heritage it helps people to learn more about their provenance. For, I think it will be embarrassing to go home and see that even the young ones have much knowledge about how to perform certain rites whilst those of us in the diaspora may be deficient in understanding those practices”, he argued. It is also very important for the young ones who are born in Finland to learn what the culture of their original society is, he continued.
The Finnish educational system
Mr Osei has a lot to say about the Finnish educational system, which he sees as very good. “When we came to Finland, education was free. There were library books and manuscripts readily available in the library, and one could print or make as many photocopies as possible for your studies. There was more flexibility. One could read books and write exams on them for the necessary grades in order to complete your studies”. In his opinion, Ghana could learn much from the Finnish system, which is one of the best in the world.
He said the only initial challenge he found in Finland was how to master the Finnish language, without which it was difficult to get a job befitting one’s status after the studies. But things have changed today and there are many English courses so it is easy to study and get a job that matches your studies, especially in the area of ICT, he said.
His role in the Ghanaian community
Mr Osei Amoah has been very active in the Ghanaian community, as I have indicated earlier. He is still very active in the Ghana Union Finland, and has played a leadership in many functions organised by the Union, as a non-governmental organisation for the Ghanaian migrant community in Finland.
Mr Amoah has been a counsellor and mentor who has guided many young Ghanaian migrants on their career paths and has also been part in settling various kinds of conflicts between opposing parties or persons. In conclusion, I would say Mr Osei Amoah has succeeded in embossing his name in the golden pages of visionary Ghanaians in both Sweden and Finland.
With Dr Perpetual Crentsil
