ECOWAS Brown Card Scheme marks 42nd anniversary with enforcement exercise
By Isaac AIDOO, Accra
The National Insurance Commission (NIC) in collaboration with ECOWAS Brown Card scheme and the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Directorate (MTTD) have lauded the insuring public for complying with section 125 of the Road Traffic Act 683 of 2004.
On the occasion of the 42nd Anniversary of the ECOWAS Brown Card insurance Scheme, the three agencies yesterday embarked on a brief enforcement exercise on vehicles especially transit vehicles from the ECOWAS sub Region.
The ECOWAS Brown Card Scheme is anchored on the key ECOWAS Objective of economic integration and the free movement of persons, goods and services across the sub-region.
Its main objective is to ensure prompt and fair compensation to victims of motor accidents caused by non-resident motorists travelling to and from other ECOWAS member States resulting in deaths, Injuries and property damage.
Most transit drivers produced their brown certificates during the exercise.
Director in charge of Education, Research and Training at the MTTD, Chief Superintendent of Police, Mr Alexander Kwaku Obeng told The New Finder, “I believe we all saw the high compliance of section 125 of the Road Traffic Act 683 of 2004 which has a heading compliance with compulsory insurance and also in particular the ECOWAS brown card insurance component so far as transit vehicles were concerned. I think that we’ve all endured, we have all engaged, we’ve interacted,”
He urged the media and other stakeholders to share with the millions of residents in West Africa and in Ghana the need to come on board to support the state in ensuring the smooth implementation of insurance, motor insurance policy.
Cooperation between both state and non-state actors would ensure free flow of traffic across borders under protection and also ensure that such vehicles as are delivered on our road across our borders also have valid and appropriate insurance that is also issued to road users by the ECOWAS brown card officer.
General Secretary of the Ghana National Bureau of the ECOWAS Brown Card Scheme, Richard Eshun took the opportunity to advise the insuring public to insist on their brown card certificates anytime they take a motor policy be it a comprehensive or third-party policy, saying “it is paid for in your motor premium.”
The Bureau, he disclosed was intending to digitize its system in the issuance and the authentication of the Brown Cards
On May 29,1982 in Cotonou, Benin, the ECOWAS Brown Card Insurance Scheme Protocol was adopted and signed by the Heads of States of Governments of ECOWAS. The 29th of May has therefore been chosen by the scheme as a commemorative day to celebrate and draw attention to the scheme across all member states.
