Kumasi, Aug 05, GNA-Mr. Kwaku Asante-Boateng, the Member of Parliament for Asante Akim South, is calling for swift government intervention to address road safety concerns on the Accra–Kumasi Highway.
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His call follows a tragic crash that claimed the lives of 16 young members of the Obogu Saviour Church in the Asante-Akim South Municipality.
The accident occurred on Monday, July 28, near Juaso Junction, when a DAF XF fuel tanker attempted an ill-fated overtaking manoeuvre, leading to a head-on collision with a Ford Transit mini-bus returning from a youth conference in Osiem, Eastern Region.
The church’s Head Pastor and another parent each lost three children, while two other families lost two children apiece.
Four others remain in critical condition at Juaso Government Hospital.
“The entire Obogu community is shattered,” the MP said in a heartfelt statement read on the floor of parliament and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA).
Mr Asante-Boateng described the Atwedie–Juaso stretch of the highway as a recurring death trap, citing a string of past accidents in the same area, including the 2016 death of NDC parliamentary candidate for Shai Osu-Doku, William Ocloo.
He also referred to the passing of Asante Kotoko’s Jerry Adjei in a similar crash and the death of a parliamentary convoy dispatch rider in 2022 on that same stretch.
The MP said the latest tragedy must be the final wake-up call for urgent reforms.
Referring to new statistics, Mr. Asante-Boateng revealed that road fatalities in Ghana rose from 1,237 in the first half of 2024 to 1,504 during the same period in 2025, a 21.6 per cent increase.
He urged the Ministry of Roads and Highways, National Road Safety Authority, and other agencies to install speed bumps along dangerous sections of the highway, expand the road, deploy speed cameras, and embark on a nationwide road safety education campaign.
The MP also proposed the formation of a task force with strict timelines to oversee the implementation of these safety measures.
He said as lawmakers, parliament have the power and responsibility to prevent such tragedies and urged his colleagues to honour the memory of the 16 lives lost by ensuring Ghana’s roads are safer.
He pledged his full support to efforts aimed at protecting road users and preventing future accidents, adding that, “we cannot wait for another mass funeral to act. The time for change is now.”
By Yussif Ibrahim, GNA
