MoTAC Launches 'Away Television Reality Show'

By Benedicta Gyimaah Folley And Kimberly Frempong

The Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture (MoTAC) in partnership with various stakeholders in the transport sector across the country will soon roll out a project to educate drivers on tourist destinations.

The activity which would serve as a measure to promote domestic tourism would, in addition, ensure adherence to traffic regulations to preserve lives and property.

Madam Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, the sector minister, disclosed this at the maiden edition of "AWAY Television Reality Show", an edutainment platform featuring commercial drivers and their mates across the country.

The main objectives of the show are to address pension, welfare and lifestyle of drivers and also the sanitation challenges at the various transport terminals and ultimately influence their perception about driving as a professional career.

She said the government considered the tourism sector as one of the major economic pillars for growth and job creation and that the government was committed to placing tourism high on its agenda.

"Part of the government's plan to achieve growth at the sector is to build relevant capacities and skills required across the industry as to ensure efficient service delivery.

I therefore find the objectives of the show on point with our capacity building efforts timely," she said.

Madam Oteng- Gyasi urged participants of the show to take the opportunity to improve themselves by imbibing all aspects of the training to be provided and aim to win the ultimate prize.

The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Mr Prince Opoku Adusei, said that as part of effort to complement the efforts of drivers, the authority would soon introduce stickers to do away with the Defective Vehicle Number Plates (DV) that had become prevalent in the country.

Mr Adusei estimated that several millions of Ghana cedis had been lost to the state due to the increasing use of pirated number plates by unregistered vehicles across the country.

"It is unclear where the fake DV plates, almost similar to those issued by the DVLA are procured from, but the rise in the use of fake plates is due to the fact that it is cheap and relatively easier to access hence the need for this new technology to address the challenge," he said.

The Programme Coordinator of Excursion GH, organisers of the event, Godfred Tawiah Gogo, said the 13-week annual event would feature tours and other social adventures to expose participants to fascinating tourist destinations to enable them to be worthy tourism ambassadors.

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