Business News of Saturday, 6 April 2013
Source: graphic.com.gh
The Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has been charged to enforce the law on expired and worn-out vehicle tyres to prevent their importation into the country.
DSP B. Addae of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service made the call during a stakeholders’ meeting on the “Enforcement of Standards on Vehicle Tyres in Ghana” organised by the Ghana Road Safety Commission (GRSC) in Accra yesterday.
Legislative Instrument 2180 (Road Traffic Regulations 2012) states that “a person shall not fix a tyre on a motor vehicle or a trailer if the tyre (a) is more than four years old counting from the date of manufacture; (b) is labeled temperature class “C” and meant for use in cold weather”.
DSP Addae emphasised that stakeholders such as exporters, car owners, transport unions and vulcanisers must be educated on the law and the dangers involved in using worn-out car tyres, so that they would appreciate why the law was instituted.
Studies conducted by the GRSC indicate that 75 per cent of tyres used in the country are second hand tyres, with most of them either expired or unreliable.
Such tyres, the studies indicate, contribute to 30 per cent of fatal road accidents in the country. The use of second hand tyres in the country was also found to have the effect of reducing vehicular braking capabilities, with a high probability of crash occurrences in wet conditions.
Some Customs and Ghana Police Service officers at the meeting admitted that they had very little knowledge of the existence of the LI and what it entailed. Mr Emmanuel Ntsiful, the representative of the Customs Division of the GRA, indicated that they had usually expressed concern over the large quantity of second hand tyres imported into the country.
Describing the meeting as an eye-opener, he called for the education of all stakeholders to ensure the smooth implementation of the law.
In his presentation on: “Findings of Study on Used Tyres”, the Deputy Director of Research Monitoring and Evaluation of the NRSC, Mr Rudolph P. K. Beckley, said about 38 per cent of respondents changed their vehicle tyres when they encountered problems, while approximately 28 per cent changed their vehicle tyres in less than one year interval.
He explained that the short tyre change frequency might be due to the use of second hand tyres which might be close to their useful life span.
Mr David Osafo Adonteng, the Director of Research, Monitoring and Evaluation at the NRSC, urged the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) to come up with localised standards for the enforcement of the laws.