AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) Obuasi Mine has partnered with the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) and other stakeholders to embark on an outdoor sensitization programme for drivers in Obuasi.

The week-long campaign, dubbed 'Ekwanso Dwoo Dwoo,' began with sensitization programmes on selected local radio stations and information centres.

This is in collaboration with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), the Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) and the Ghana Private Roads Transport Authority (GPRTU) extended to drivers on the Obuasi to Kwapia road considered to be an accident hotspot.

In October 2024, 13 people lost their lives when a VIP bus they were aboard from Kumasi to Enchi reportedly veered off the road and plunged into a ditch near Kwapia.

The rationale behind the ‘Ekwanso Dwoo Dwoo’ road safety campaign as explained by the Community Relations Manager for AngloGold Ashanti-Obuasi Mine was to remind the drivers of the need to observe defensive driving and abide by road safety regulations.

According to statistics from the MTTD of the Ghana Police Service, 1,237 lives were lost between January and June 2024 through road accidents.

The Ashanti Region alone recorded 325 casualties; a 67 per cent increment over the 2023 figure within the same period.

In a bid to address the surge in road accidents in the region, the AGA commenced intensive free road safety training for 50 commercial and institutional drivers as well as cyclists in Obuasi as part of their Community Safety Programme.

The initiative forms part of the mining company’s 10-year Socioeconomic Development Plan (SEDP) drive.

Mr Oduro Agyei mentioned that the outdoor road safety campaign was a follow-up to the refresher training offered to motorists last year.

“We are here with other stakeholders not to enforce road safety rules but to be practical and admonish drivers on the need to drive safe and alive,” he said.

He cautioned drivers to avoid driving under the influence of alcohol and overloading, reduce speed, wear seat belts, and observe all road safety protocols.

A total of 1,000 drivers and passengers benefited from the campaign on the day. This, as explained by Kwesi Agyenim Boateng, the Ashanti Regional Director of the NRSA, was a useful exercise and lauded AngloGold for taking the bold step.

He cited overspeeding, especially among high-risk commercial drivers and motorcyclists as the cause of the increase in road accidents on the Obuasi-Kumasi road, a situation he said needed a campaign like this, to curb it.

The Manager of the Obuasi office of the DVLA, Edwin Ofori commended AngloGold Ashanti for the programme describing it as the right approach in dealing with the rise in road accidents on the Obuasi-Kumasi road.

“We need collaborative efforts to curb the high incidence of road accidents. The approach to bring all of us together to drum home the essence of safe driving to the drivers is the right intervention which needs to be sustained,” he said.