Road Safety to be included in Sierra Leone school syllabus
The West Africa Road Safety Organization (WARSO) made up of fifteen member states has ended its 5th Annual General Meeting in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in which Sierra Leone was represented by the Sierra Leone Road Transport Authority (SLRTA).
The meeting, held from 14th – 18th October, 2013, saw the participation of the SLRTA Director of Safety and Enforcement, Bouba Amara and Public Relations Officer, Abdul Karim Dumbuya.
The regional body addressed the common challenges in the road transport industry, specifically the promotion of road safety in the West Africa region.
In an exclusive interview with the SLRTA PRO, Abdul Karim Dumbuya, he disclosed that several issues were discussed to attain road safety starting with the introduction of the Passengers’ Manifest and the inclusion of a road safety syllabus in both primary and secondary schools that other countries have already implemented and the template for the collection of data on road traffic crashes.
Abdul Karim Dumbuya further highlighted that during the evaluation of performance of countries in line with the UN Decade of Action on Road Safety, Sierra Leone was commended for its strong legislation to enhance road safety and enforcement than other countries in the region and disclosed that Sierra Leone would host the next meeting slated for March, 2014 adding that Superintendent Ambrose Sovula, Head of the Traffic Division of the Sierra Leone Police, was awarded an Honorary Membership.
He continued that SLRTA has enacted laws relating to Passengers’ Manifest awaiting implementation but underscored that WARSO has demanded its full implementation by all member states of the organization for which ECOWAS would send the template for the enhancement and implementation of the Passengers’ Manifest.
The PRO further revealed that the Authority has formally informed the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology for the inclusion of a Road Safety Syllabus in schools as was the case in the 1970s and 1980s as part of the Civic Education.
According to the PRO, the WARSO President, Osita Chidoka commended Sierra Leone for prioritizing road safety which is of global concern and admonished other member states to put laws in place to enhance road safety in the sub-region and road safety education.
Guinea and Liberia were not represented at the meeting.
By Abdul R. Bedor Kamara
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