The La Nkwantanang–Madina Municipal Assembly has revealed that about 60 people have lost their lives to vehicular knockdowns at the Madina Zongo Junction over the past seven years, largely due to pedestrians’ refusal to use the footbridge in the area.

To address the situation, the Assembly says it will reinforce mesh wiring along the stretch and deploy a 100-member joint task force made up of Assembly officials and personnel from the Ghana Police Service.

The task force will be stationed permanently at the location to ensure strict compliance with the use of the footbridge.

Speaking to journalists during a visit to the area by the Greater Accra Regional Minister, the Municipal Chief Executive for La Nkwantanang–Madina, Ibrahim Faila, warned that spot fines will be imposed on pedestrians who disregard the directive and fail to use the footbridge.

“Within seven years, we’ve lost lives close to 60. Just a day before yesterday, we left here while these guys were working. In just about 25, 30 minutes, another life was gone. So every time that it happens, we do call upon the regional minister, local government minister, even to the extent of calling on behalf of the president. Why should we sit and allow such things to happen? We shouldn’t. We’ve recruited a tax force close to 100.

“What we are going to do is they will be stationed here, both on the left side and then the right side. We’ve also called upon the highways to also help us to retrain this curve to the end there. Therefore, it will be only the police officers and the traffic controllers, that’s the city guards and the police, who will be stationed at the beginning of the road.

“No one will be allowed to use the median if you choose to use the median the police, the task force, sanitation guys will also arrest you and take you on so there’s going to be a spot fine for those people using the or crossing the median anyhow and then if you fail to do that too we’ll make sure we prosecute you direct to the courts for the court to deal with you.”