Indiscipline on the roads, result of the corruption – Former commander of the MTTD

General News of Thursday, July 25, 2019

Source: Graphic.com.gh

2019-07-25

A former commander of the Traffic and Road Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghanaian police has blamed the upsurge of indiscipline and carnage on the country's roads as corrupt practices prevail among the agencies charged with theft. 39, enforcement of the law and regulatory bodies.

Deputy Police Commissioner (ACP), Victor Tandoh (Ret), said that despite good road safety regulations to ensure road safety, some police officers have been corrupted, justice and the courts have undermined efforts to ensure safety on the roads.

"Today, corruption is part of our daily lives, especially on the part of the police, the DVLA and the courts. It is a question of sabotaging the efforts to ensure the strict respect of road safety by motorists in order to save the lives of its inhabitants, "he said. declared.

Graphic security project

In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra as part of the journal 's special project on personal safety, Tandoh also quoted policymakers, government officials and senior officials for contributing to the challenge as well. Ingesting into the work of police drivers arrested for breaking the rules of the road.

"Pbadengers can not be left out, as they also encourage drivers who commit a variety of traffic offenses to afford not to waste time," he said.

Mr. Victor Tandoh shared his point of view on how to discipline roads to enhance road safety and reduce accidents.

Corrupt police

Mr. Tandoh, who became the head of the MTTD in 2001 and retired in 2017, said many of the honest MTTD staff were working hard to keep the roads healthy, which some police took money and did not control the behavior of their colleagues. the motorists canceled the yield of the vouchers.

"We have very honest and efficient police officers who will not accept the money from the offending drivers, but there are others who, when they are posted on the roads, see them there. a cocoa season, "he said.

He added that there were many cases where other police badigned to checkpoints and patrol duties would perform duties of MTTD personnel by stopping and collecting funds. with motorists.

"These dishonest men should be ashamed of themselves because it is not the money you earn on the road that will make you rich. If you collect money from the drivers and mix it with your money, your money will not be available, "he said.

He therefore urged corrupt police officers to change their attitude and follow the good examples of those who work hard. He said that "corrupt police officers should be badigned to other units of the police department to deprive them of the opportunity to collect money from drivers".

DVLA

Mr. Tandoh acknowledged that although many reforms had been implemented at the DVLA to reduce corrupt practices and minimize the activities of "goro boys", little had changed to date.

According to him, a visit to the offices of the DVLA would reveal the presence of "boys goro" who still had "a day in the field to work harder than before".

"At the moment, people are still acquiring new driver's licenses and renewing them without going through the system.

"In addition, even though the DVLA has opened new outlets, people are acquiring road user certificates without sending their vehicles for evaluation, which is made possible through corruption," he said. added.

Courts

With regard to corruption in the courts, the ACP Tandoh said that when drivers were arrested and subject to the law, it was the duty of the courts to impose on their drivers the penalty appropriate, such as fines, suspension or revocation of licenses, or recommendations. that drivers attend the driving school to obtain the appropriate certificates.

He stated, however, that the information gathered revealed the existence of an alleged collaboration between police prosecutors, court clerks and judges, whose conduct undermined efforts to bring the drivers to justice.

"As we saw in the presentation of Anas number 12, I hope that judges, clerks and police prosecutors will learn something from there. exposed and will change their attitude, so that we can all contribute to mental health on our roads, "he said.

Great men pervert justice

Mr. Tandoh also worried about what he described as an interference in the work of MTTD staff on the part of people whom he described as "great men".

He said that most drivers of impounded vehicles for breaking the rules of the road were working for political figures, officials, officials and other Ghanaians in positions of influence.

"These great men interfere in police work by acting on behalf of offending drivers, often resulting in a perversion of justice, making many drivers notorious.

"Anyone who uses his office to plead on behalf of a wrongdoer perverts justice because they also engage in corrupt practices. This is because they do not want justice to run its course.

"They corrupted the system, because there had been many situations where these fat men had corrupted police officers to release recalcitrant motorists," he said, pointing out that such misconduct had contributed to the madness of the roads.