Anambra State has instituted an insurance scheme to cover passengers who travel from the state to other states of the federation with a view to ensuring that they are covered against unforeseen road accidents that might happen to them. Afam Mbanefo, the commissioner for transport, said recently in Awka, the state capital, that the launch of the new insurance scheme will take place soon, while also adding that a crackdown on touts and fake revenue collectors was also been finalised.
The insurance scheme will provide cover up to N100,000 in the case of accidental death and N50,000 in the case of injuries, Mbanefo explained. Explaining further, the transport commissioner said the insurance policy had given added importance to the proper use of passenger manifest by the transport operators.
“In addition, the manifest system we’re putting in place helps us with the information regarding who is coming into the State and all of these contribute to the security situation in the State,” said the commissioner.
On wider transport issues in the state, Mbanefo said efforts were on to sanitise the road transport sector, adding that Governor Willie Obiano has approved the establishment of an anti-tout team. “There are touts out there collecting money from innocent drivers.
We’re discussing with the various unions to make sure that these individuals extorting money on the roads are treated as criminals and not agents of the state. We’ve formed a joint task force with the traders and transporters unions to curb these excesses,” he explained.
He doused possible fears about the ant-tout team becoming a menace of its own, saying that the personnel would come from a pool of existing standard organisations, including the Vehicle Inspection Office, Anambra Traffic Management Agency, and the Ocha Brigade; assuring that the anti-tout team will undergo the necessary training.
He explained that order was being brought to bus and tricycle operations through verification and validation of parks. “We have identified loading bases for tricycles. We’ve marked the locations and we’re putting up signages, starting from Awka, then to Onitsha and other parts of the State.
“We’ll sit down once again with the unions to inform them of this policy and then we’ll start enforcement. “There are parks that are paying next to nothing. There are parks that are not in our books but are trading. Any park that is not approved, will be revoked,” Mbanefo stressed
