The Minister for Transport, Mr Kwaku Ofori Asiamah has said that a well-defined policy has been put in place to ensure a sustainable and efficient transportation system in the country.
According to him, the transport sector plays a crucial role in the daily lives of Ghanaians as it provides adequate access to goods and services that promote the socio-economic growth of the country.
The sector Minister in a speech read for him at a one-day Regional Dissemination Workshop on National Transportation and Electric Vehicle policies in Ho, said this would pave way for the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMAs) to set out their objectives on how to work with these policies.
Mr Asiamah noted that prior to an institutional study of the transport sector it was revealed that the regulatory and asset management agencies in the aviation and marine sectors were compliant with international best practices, however the road and railways sectors lagged behind with its infrastructure.According to the Minister, the transport sector continued to face challenges over the years, which required better coordination and integration of the transport sectors to fully realise the objective of the policies.
Mr Asiamah said following the challenges the transport sector faces, the Transport Ministry in collaboration with other transport sector ministries, and with support from the World Bank, came up with a review of the National transport policy to ensure that they meet international standards.
He said the objective of the review was to assess the content and detail of the transport policy in terms of the existing state of the transport sector in line with the best internal practices.
Mr Asiamah stressed that the key focus of the revised national transport policy was to promote innovation and the adoption of new technologies in the transport sector including electric vehicles.
The Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Letsa said the National Transport policies would help stimulate economic growth, create jobs and reduce emissions that pollute the environment.
Dr Letsa therefore pledged the preparedness of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) to support team players to ensure a better transportation system in the region.
Story by Robert Abilba