The Chairman of Parliament’s Subsidiary Legislation Committee accused of expanding the scope of the Road Traffic Regulations 2012 has taken full responsibility for the committee’s proposal.

The Legislative Instrument (L.I.) if passed, would permit Members of Parliament, Ministers, and judges to use sirens and drive without speed limits.

According to committee chair, Dr Dominic Ayine, in the proposed L.I., several aspects of the substantive law were amended, not only the portions that include adding legislators to the list of individuals who could drive with sirens and without speed limits.

He explained that this and other proposals were to help improve the law.

Speaking on Accra-based Citi FM, he said “As chairman, I ask the ministry to take account of all the proposals that were made including those that I as chairman also noted and asked that they should make.  …that also included whether they would amend regulation 74 to add MPs to the list.

“So I asked that they should go back and consider all the amendments that have been proposed by the committee and they went and did. When they did they sent it back to the committee for us to vet every amendment proposed. So it was not about siren and speed limit. It was about everything that has to do with this particular instrument.”

• Read also: Withdraw LI which allows MPs, Ministers use sirens and drive without speed limit – Minority to Transport Minister

However, the Minority in Parliament has asked the Transport Minister, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, to withdraw the LI following a public uproar.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Caucus expressed that it expects the Sector Minister to withdraw the instrument before it matures in 21 days.

The Minority also pledged to vote against the LI should it be brought to the chamber.

Meanwhile, addressing traffic congestion, which is the basis for the proposed LI, Deputy Minister of Transport Hassan Tampuli stated that there is a need to reconfigure roads to include dedicated lanes to make the Bus Rapid Transit system more effective.

“The National Road Safety Authority is still in the process of rolling out, more and more ingenuous ways of dealing with the traffic situation in Accra and other cities across the country,” he said.