—– Promises 50 per cent drop in accidents by 2020

As part of efforts to enhance safety on the roads, the Federal Government yesterday established a capital project development framework.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo-Udoma disclosed this yesterday in Abuja, while inaugurating a Technical Working Group (TWG) of the National Road Safety Advisory Council.

The framework is expected to encourage and increase public-private partnerships to deliver on critical road projects. He explained that one of the fastest ways of ensuring safety on the roads is by investing massively in road infrastructure and leveraging private sector investments.

The minister told members of the TWG that the meeting was an opportunity to get acquainted with the details of their assignment and their roles.

He added that clarity on their roles and responsibilities would help to actualise the goals and programmes outlined in the Nigeria Road Safety Strategy (NRSS).

He said the vision of the NRSS was to stem the menace of road traffic accidents and the consequent loss of lives and destruction of property on the highways..

According to him, the vision is in line with the vision of United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety: 2011-2020, to reduce accidents by 50 per cent by 2020, as resolved by the United Nations’ General Assembly in 2010.

“To achieve this goal, member states are required to forge a sustainable platform for a nationally-coordinated response, involving relevant stakeholders, including government, non-governmental organisations, communities, religious and traditional institutions and the media.

“It is in fulfillment of this that the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) is working closely with the then National Planning Commission and other stakeholders to articulate the NRSS document in 2010, with elaborate measures to secure active participation and constructive input from relevant stakeholders across board,” he said.

The Corps Marshall of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi said road safety had become one of the defining global issues in public health and economic development.

This, he said, arose from the considerable degree of the loss of lives and property and the injuries that victims sustain, as well as the degradation of road infrastructure.

Udo-Udoma said government was already harnessing the existing pool of sustainable development funds to assess the viability and bankability of critical road infrastructure projects in the country to achieve the objectives of the NRSS.

 

Source: Guardian.ng

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