By Beatrice Oppong
Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Highway Authority, Christian Nti has commended the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, GBC, for its reportage on Road use and Safety, especially, in areas of accepted weighbridges and Axle Load Weight rules.
He gave the commendation when Management of the Ghana Highways paid a courtesy call on the Director-General of GBC, Professor Amin Alhassan at Broadcasting House in Accra.
Mr Nti said overweight vehicles reduce the lifespan of roads and therefore the need for continuous public education, especially, by the GBC which is not centered on sensationalism and also has a wider reach.
He said the Ghana Highway Authority will collaborate with the GBC in these areas.
” I share your dream of moving GBC from bureaucracy to business. We are in charge of the road network connecting regional capitals to district capitals to neighbouring countries. Our main responsibility is to ensure that people can travel safely and people can travel throughout the year and we facilitate economic activities. We cannot do this work without the collaboration and the support of the media and I must confess that we have received from GBC. We believe that you report fairly, you don’t add, you don’t sensationalise your reportage and you give the facts as they are. You report the road projects, you have been going round with us and I think that you are supporting us in the area of disseminating information and also educating the public.
We have a lot of overweight vehicles that go beyond the height limit, they are destroying our bridges, our roads. We need to collaborate with you so that we can make shame and also help us to reprimand some of them”, he noted.
Reflecting on some common history between the GBC and the GHA, Professor. Amin Alhassan gave assurance of the Corporation’s support in all spheres. He called for the speedy reconstruction of the road leading to some strategic National installations, like the Adjangote Transmitter Station which has not seen any facelift since its construction in the Nkrumah era.
”Your understanding of what the media does and how you think of the media is one that will definitely come to benefit Ghana Highway Authority. We are always there to tell your story. When you tell us the story it’s our job to tell it and we will always do it. Ghana Highway Authority and Ghana Broadcasting Corporation have some history that today is worth reflecting on. We are spread out in all locations because our mandate requires that we treat every Ghanaian equally. We have certain locations that are so strategic that we need to always make sure that they are in good shape and one of them is Ajankote site”, he noted.
Management of the Ghana Highway Authority who were on a working visit took a tour of the Ghana Ghana Broadcasting studios. The team included the Acting Chief Executive, ING. Christian Nti & the Head of Public Affairs Division of the Ghana Highway Authority, Cecil Nii Obodai Wentum.
