By Lamin Njie
The Director of Transport, at the Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure (MoTWI) has said that there is a need for The Gambia to establish a lead agency that will solely be responsible for all road safety matters in the country.
Mr Essa Drammeh said this at his office at the Ministry of Transport Works and Infrastructure during an exclusive interview with Gambia Daily.
Mr Drammeh explained that the Road Safety Lead Agency will be a national agency in charge of road safety issues with cross-sectoral coordination responsibilities. He pointed out that road safety is a multi-sector issue and as such no single entity can perform all the functions required to achieve road safety.
As such, he added that it is necessary to have a lead agency that will coordinate the efforts of all the players. “The first global status report on road safety prepared by The World Health Organization in 2004, brought the issue of road safety to the limelight, and the report recommended countries to identify a lead agency in government to guide the national road safety effort. The establishment and strengthening of lead agencies is also a continent and regional-wide priority for the African Union Commission and ECOWAS. As such, both the African Road Safety Charter and ECOWAS Road safety charter strongly recommend member states to establish a lead agency with strong legal and financial backing,” he cited.
Mr Drammeh lamented the fact that road safety efforts in the country are being undertaken by different entities and that these efforts are mostly uncoordinated. “This is where the role of the lead agency is fundamental. The lead agency will ensure the effective and efficient functioning of the road safety management system in the country. The lead agency ensures responsible and accountable road safety leadership at the country, both at provincial and central levels”.
Aside promoting effective coordination, accountability, he said having a lead agency would ensure timely reviewing, and enactment of relevant traffic laws and ensuring sustainable funding of road safety activities as well as monitoring and evaluation.
The core mandate of agency he went on, will be to ensure that Gambian roads are safe for all road users. He went on to highlight the core functions of the agency as:
develop, implement, and continually improve a national road safety management system for the Gambia including preparation of a road safety vision, road safety targets, as well as interventions and management processes to achieve the road safety targets; develop and oversee the implementation of road safety strategies and plans to address key road safety concerns about the safety of roads, vehicles, users, and post-crash response; establish and manage mechanisms between government agencies, and community, industry, and business interests as required, to coordinate the planning, delivery, and management of road safety activity; review and advice on legislative and compliance mechanisms that have a significant impact on road safety, including planning design and use of the road network, regulation and compliance for motor vehicle drivers and commercial transport operators, and post-crash recovery and treatment; develop and oversee implementation of multi-year and multi-agency road safety investment plans which support sustainable funding of road safety activity and the integration of safety within relevant government projects and programs; develop and implement programmes to promote effective road safety practices amongst government, community, industry, and business interests, and to support specific road safety programs; develop and manage monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, including data management systems, which are necessary to report on and promote improvement in the delivery of road safety activities and programs; and to develop and implement road safety research programs that support monitoring and improvement of road safety activity, and knowledge transfer programs that promote greater road safety management capacity amongst government, community, industry, and business interests.
Asked when the agency is expected to be established in the Gambia, Director Drammeh had this to say: “the timeframe as to when the lead agency shall be established is beyond me as an individual. What is clear as of now is that our people are dying on our roads unnecessarily and something needs to be done to improve the situation”.
He however noted that they are pushing the agenda of establishing a road safety lead agency for The Gambia not because they want it, but because studies elsewhere have shown how the establishment of a lead agency is able to improve the road safety situation in those countries.
“Based on our interactions with various stakeholders there seems to be a consensus on the need to establish the lead agency. In light of the foregoing, the Ministry of Transport Works and Infrastructure is doing all preliminary works required to push the agenda forward. We hope that in two years’ time, a well-resourced dedicated road safety lead agency with legal backing will be established in The Gambia as applied in other countries in the region.
As far as the powers of the agency are concerned, Drammeh said they anticipate the lead agency to be vested with adequate authority in order to effectively carry out its functions, pointing out that research shows that lead agencies need to have some sort of authority to perform effectively. “That’s why some countries that have started their lead agency with a commission or agency now upgraded them to dedicated authorities with clear mandates and powers,” he added.
On how the agency would bring safety to our roads, he ramarked: “As the saying goes, ‘to whom much is given, much is expected. Therefore, the lead agency will be solely accountable for road safety in the country. Currently, no institution is solely responsible for safety on our roads as responsibilities are fragmented among stakeholders. Therefore, we hope that establishing a lead agency for road safety will make a big difference”.
The Transport Director informed that almost all West African countries do have lead agencies for road safety. The latest three countries to establish the agencies he revealed, are Guinea, Guinea Bissau, and Senegal; that Nigeria, Ghana, and Sierra have very powerful road safety authorities worthy of emulating.
He underscored the need for a high-level political commitment as key for road safety efforts to succeed, and expressed the belief that the commitment to the cause of improving road safety by the executive notably their Minister, Ebrima Sillah, is visible. “The National Assembly members have also manifested their commitments in various forms over the years. I can only be optimistic that sooner rather than later we will overcome the road safety challenges the country is facing,” he added.
Finally Mr Drammeh had this say: “Road safety is everyone’s responsibility. As such, we should all join hands to improve road safety in the country. We should also be responsible when using the roads”.
