Pernod Ricard Ghana, a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard Group, a leading producer of wines and spirits, has donated 20 branded barricades to the Ghana Police Service.

This forms part of its ‘Metwi a, Mentwa’ road safety campaign to sensitise commercial drivers and commuters on the detrimental effects of drink-driving ahead of the Easter festive season.

The gesture, which is in partnership with Street Sense Organisation (SSO), seeks to create visibility and help intensify this year’s ‘Metwi a, Mentwa’ campaign.

The ‘Metwi a, Mentwa’ campaign, launched in December 2021, is aimed at promoting responsible behaviour among high-risk commercial drivers to provide enhanced and safer transport services for commuters.

Speaking at a brief handover ceremony, Sustainability and Responsibility Manager for Pernod Ricard Ghana, Eunice Osei-Tutu, said the barricades, which will be situated at different locations across Ghana’s major travelling roads, will remind drivers not to drink and drive.

"In line with the fourth pillar of our roadmap, ‘Responsible Hosting’ which is to ensure that we fight alcohol misuse in society by taking action on harmful drinking and that our brands are enjoyed responsibly, we deemed it important to go beyond speaking to drivers as part of efforts to curb drink-drive related accidents.

"To intensify this year’s edition, we are partnering with the state’s enforcement agency responsible for road safety in Ghana with these barricades to share our message with the drivers, which is ‘Metwi a, Mentwa! — which means ‘If I will drive, I will not drink’.

"We believe that these barricades on our major travelling roads will remind high-risk commercial drivers about the need to avoid driving under the influence of alcohol.

"It will also promote responsible behaviour among them and provide enhanced and safer transport services for commuters, especially during the Easter and Christmas festivities", she added.

Receiving the barricades on behalf of the Ghana Police Service, ACP Abass Al-Meyao, Director of Operations, commended Pernod Ricard Ghana and Street Sense for the initiative.

"On behalf of the Police Administration, we wish to thank Pernod Ricard Ghana for these crash barricades. They are very timely and in line with the goal of drastically reducing road accidents in Ghana.

"We also want to assure them that we will put them to maximum use to keep our streets safe and to carry the message across to drivers and commuters. Meanwhile, we use this opportunity to caution drivers not to drink and drive".

On her part, Gloria Laryea, a member of the Board of Trustees for the Street Sense Organisation, also appealed to the drivers to adhere to road traffic rules and regulations to save more lives.