Tyre Dealers Oppose Ban...

The decision by the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) to strictly enforce the law banning the sale and importation of used tyres in the country as part of measures to ensure the reduction of road accident has been met with stiff opposition from dealers of the product in the country. The dealers have strongly challenged the NRSC to prove with statistics, the number of accidents that have occurred in the country as a result of substandard tyres, as being claimed by the Commission. The law banning the importation of tyres marked C, and others whose manufacturing dates exceed four years, was passed by Parliament in 2012, but has since not been implemented. According to the Used-Tyre Dealers Association of Ghana, it will be unjustifiable to attribute the spate of road accidents in the country to used tyres, since in the Commission�s reports of many road accidents were not as a result of poor vehicular tyres. Members of the association contend that the tyres imported to the country have been tried and certified by manufacturing countries where they are imported from and that the assertion that the used tyres do not meet the country�s standard was inaccurate. At a press conference organized in Kumasi to express their concerns over the proposed move by the NRSC, the Public Relations Officer of the association, Mr. William Sarpong, warned that the policy would have serious repercussions on businesses, particularly in the transport sector, since most people cannot afford to buy brand new tyres. He noted that though the recent spate of road accidents was a source of concern to all Ghanaians, the association believes banning used tyres was not the solution since it is not the major cause of road accidents in the country. According to him, banning used tyres would not only stifle many businesses in the country but would also result in serious unemployment since many youth in the business would become jobless. William Sarpong argued that lots of road accidents in the country are due to human errors including over-speeding, overloading, wrongful overtaking and other mechanical causes such as brake failure etc, adding �except on few cases that burst of tyres may cause accident. �We have several instances in this country where official vehicles used by high profile personalities have experienced tyre bursts; talk of the Russian Chief Justice who visited this country last year, talk of Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, NPP running mate in the 2012 elections, amongst others, we are not trying to belittle the impact of such accidents but what we are saying is that sometimes it is not about the tyre but rather the pressure in the tyre, which are sometimes either high or low, we think that banning of used tyres is not the way to go,� he stated. The Public Relations Officer of the association said members were ever ready to dialogue with the Road Safety Commission on how best to ensure proper monitoring and education. The dealers, however, warned that they would resist the move, stating that they would embark on series of nationwide demonstrations to register their displeasure should government go ahead to implement the policy.