President John Dramani Mahama has dismissed calls for the government to fix Ghana’s roads and related infrastructure before implementing the TraffiTech-GH traffic enforcement system, insisting that road safety measures must not wait for perfect roads.
He said the use of speed cameras is necessary to address speeding and protect vulnerable road users, particularly schoolchildren who are frequently knocked down by speeding vehicles.
President Mahama made the remarks while in Antigua ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), amid concerns from some motorists and transport operators about the introduction of the system.
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The Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service rolled out TraffiTech-GH on November 1, deploying camera technology to detect traffic violations, with the initial phase focusing on speeding.
The rollout has attracted criticism from some motorists, who argue that the government should first address poor road conditions and deficiencies in road infrastructure, including traffic lights, road markings and speed-limit signage.
Some commercial transport operators had also threatened industrial action over the implementation, citing concerns about the system and the conditions under which drivers operate.
But President Mahama dismissed the argument that the state must first achieve perfect road conditions before introducing automated traffic enforcement.
“I hear they say we should fix the roads before we introduce TraffiTech. It does not work like that. I mean, the roads are not perfect in the UK, yet they have speed cameras,” he said.
The President explained that the system had initially been introduced to check speeding, with other traffic offences expected to be incorporated later.
“TraffiTech has begun with checking speeding. They have not yet added the other components such as jumping red lights, wrong-way parking and others,” he said.
The system uses cameras to capture traffic violations and supports the issuance of electronic notices to vehicle owners. The police have said the initial deployment is focused on speeding offences.