The overall number of GoTa phones in existence which currently stands at 900
•The Police MTTD has received an additional 400-set of GoTa phones to curb the menace of fake insurance stickers
•This brings the total number of GoTa phone furnished to the Police by the NIC to 900
•The phones are meant to assist the checking the validity of motor insurance stickers on vehicles
Commissioner of Insurance at the National Insurance Commission, Dr Justice Yaw Ofori has revealed an additional 400 set of GoTa phones has been furnished to personnel of the Motor Traffic and Transport Division of the Ghana Police.
The overall number of GoTa phones in existence which currently stands at 900 are meant to assist the checking the validity of motor insurance stickers on vehicles with the view to protecting lives and property.
Making the revelation to mark the end of a nationwide training of MTTD personnel, Dr Justice Yaw Ofori pointed the move was necessary to curb the menace of vehicles plying the roads without proper or fake insurance certification.
“Some vehicle owners or their drivers are carrying with them fake insurance policies in violation of the law. While some may be ignorant of the modus operandi of some miscreants in society perpetrating this phenomenon, some others consciously purchase these fake insurance policies from some unscrupulous persons just because they are cheaper,” he bemoaned.
The Insurance Commissioner said the worrying trend however puts the lives of motorists, passengers, and pedestrians at risk as there is no compensation for victims of accidents involving vehicles with fake or uninsured insurances.
As part of efforts to clamp down fake insurance stickers on the roads, personnel of the MTTD have already begun an aggressive campaign to clamp down on vehicles with fake and invalid insurance policy stickers after they had been trained on the use of the devices during a nationwide series of Training of Trainers (ToT) workshops organized by the NIC across the country.
Dr. Ofori further revealed that feedback following the aftermath of the training sessions were encouraging as the MTTD personnel have already yielded some results through the use of the devices.
“What the introduction of the mobile devices by the NIC also means is that the MTTD officers will depend solely on what is immediately visible. With the aid of the mobile devices, they can scan the insurance policy sticker and in real time, a message will indicate whether the insurance is valid or otherwise,” Dr. Ofori intimated.
He used the opportunity to admonish motorists and vehicle owners to purchase insurance policies from insurance companies licensed by the National Insurance Commission or their agents and expect to receive instant text messages upon payment of their premiums.