Pernod Ricard Ghana in collaboration with Street Sense Organisation, a road safety campaigner, has embarked on a road safety awareness and sensitisation programme aimed at reducing the incidence of drink-driving, especially during the Easter festivities.

The programme dubbed “Metwi a, Mentwa” which literally means “If I will drive, I will not drink”, was launched in December last year.

The recent campaign, targeting 1,000 commercial drivers, started at the GPRTU Obra spot lorry park in Accra and is being replicated at nine other lorry terminals in the Greater Accra, Eastern and Central regions, including the Neoplan station, Tudu, Ashaiman, Nsawam, Amasaman, Tema, and the Accra-Tema station.

Addressing the media after the exercise, the Sustainability and Responsibility Manager at Pernod Ricard Ghana, Eunice Osei Tutu said the “Metwi a, Mentwa” campaign is one of the Programmes under the Responsible Hosting Pillar of the company’s Sustainability and Responsibility roadmap, which also supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDG) 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages.

“For us at Pernod Ricard, it is very important that our products are consumed responsibly; and for everyone driving, responsible consumption means no consumption’, she stressed.

“We hope that this important sensitisation exercise and the campaign stickers affixed on their vehicles, will serve as reminders leading to a reduction in deaths and injuries on our roads”, she added.

Director of Operations, Monitoring and Evaluation at Street Sense Organisation, Gabriel Dake said the main purpose of the programme was to ensure that there was sanity on the road before, during and after the Easter festivities.

“Basically, all these Programmes are geared towards reduction of road accidents and saving lives especially, ensuring that the cost associated with that kind of damage is eliminated’, he said.

Mr. Arhin Ebenezer, the Vice Chairman of G.P.R.T.U, Obra Spot commended the two organizations, Pernod Ricard Ghana and Street Sense Organization for their continuous efforts to remind motorists of responsible driving.

According to statistics from the National Road Safety Commission, 70 percent of road crashes affect people within the economic ages between 15 to 64 years.