As part of the promotion of road safety, the National Road Safety Office (ONASER) in partnership with the mining company IAMGOLD ESSAKANE SA, has designed awareness panels for road users, mainly schoolchildren and the truckers. In the presence of the CEO of ONASER, Évariste Gane Kpierre Méda and the acting director of ESSAKANE, Wangré/ Kaboré Blandine, the panels were unveiled to the students of Lycée Marien N’Gouabi on Friday May 12, 2023.
ONASER and its partner ESSAKANE SA have chosen two priority targets to unveil road safety awareness panels. These are schoolchildren on the one hand and carriers on the other. At the Marien N’Gouabi high school, there is a giant panel located in the courtyard of the establishment allowing those who enter and leave to capture the message that has been unveiled. With this gesture, the two structures show their desire to promote road safety in schools. Thus, as indicated by the headmaster of the establishment, Mahmoudou Salembéré, the 2,600 students of the establishment, divided into 44 classes, must be aware that respecting the security codes makes it possible to protect their lives.
The opportunity being the thief, the headmaster took advantage of sharing with the heads of the two structures, namely ONASER and ESSAKANE SA, some of the grievances of the students. For the latter, in addition to the awareness posters, the students ask for protective helmets and count on the support of ONASER during the helmet wearing day that it wants to organize. The students also asked for the rehabilitation of their old infirmary from the 1950s. Before responding to their complaints, the CEO of ONASER, Évariste Gane Kpierre Méda, will tell the students: “ these panels carry a message that appeals to everyone in the establishment, particularly the students. We are promoting the wearing of helmets and students are our priority target. It must be said, wearing a helmet is an obligation in our country. This is why the CEO of ONASER invites all students and those who come to school to wear the helmet.
At the Gare de l’Ouest, the message from ONASER passed 5/5
Students are not the only target of ONASER for this awareness campaign through posters. The other favorite target is truckers. Raising awareness at this level focused on overloading and mixed transport. Evariste Gane Kpierre Méda CEO of ONASER will say: “We targeted a few places that we felt were quite visible to allow this target audience to be aware, to know that these are behaviors that are prohibited in circulation”.
On the participation of his company in this campaign, the country director of ESSAKANE SA, Wangré / Kaboré Blandine, to emphasize that: “IAMGOLD is a corporate citizen that makes occupational health and safety a cardinal value. I’m there with the health and safety director. So when we were approached by ONASER as part of its promotional activities, road safety, we did not hesitate because it is in line with our values”.
Firmin OUATTARA
