House passes Road Traffic Amendment Bill

Page 14, July 21, 2008
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
PARLIAMENT has passed the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill which was introduced in the House on July 14, 2008.
If given presidential assent, it will reduce the number of the penalty units for each motor traffic offence to 10 per cent units specified in the Road Traffic Act, 2004 (Act 683).
Act 683 had, over the past four years, been the only law relied on to deal with motor traffic offences in the country.
According the report of the Parliamentary Committee on Road and Transport, if the bill was passed, an offence attracting 100 penalty units (GH¢1,200) would now attract 10 penalty units (GH¢120).
The Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Kwame Osei-Prempeh, who moved the motion for the second reading of the bill, argued that the increase in the fines paved the way for some motor traffic offenders to pay bribes to some law enforcement officers in order to avoid prosecution.
The need to decrease the penalty units for each motor traffic offence to 10 per cent was, therefore, aimed at reducing the excessive fines paid by motor traffic offenders in order to avert the situation whereby money intended for state coffers would be diverted.
In its deliberations, the Road and Transport Committee noted that the level of indiscipline among some drivers and its attendant carnage on the roads left much to be desired.
In their submissions, Members of Parliament (MPs) who contributed to the ensuing debate noted that the reduction in fines imposed on motor traffic offenders was a step in the right direction.
They, however, called for measures to make offending drivers to pay on-the-spot fines to avoid the problem they went through at the courts when they were sent before the courts for committing motor traffic offences.
Meanwhile, the debate on the second reading of the National Pension Reform Bill which began yesterday had to be suspended because of the fewer number of MPs who were present in the chamber.
The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, moved the motion for the second reading of the bill and was seconded by the Chairman of the Finance Committee of the House, Nii Adu Daku Mante.
Presenting the report of the Finance Committee on the bill, Nii Mante said the bill was to provide for pension reforms in the country by the introduction of a contributory three-tier pension scheme.
There would also be the establishment of a National Pensions Regulatory Authority to oversee the administration and management of registered pension schemes and trustees of registered pension schemes, among other provisions.
The bill provides that there will be a transitional period of five years to allow for the unification of the existing schemes into the three-tier scheme.