Good intentions not enough to guarantee success of TraffiTech-GH – Bright Simons

The Honorary Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, says the success of the TraffiTech-GH initiative should be judged by how effectively it is implemented rather than the good intentions behind its introduction.

According to him, Ghana has a long history of government initiatives that were conceived with positive objectives but failed to deliver the desired results because of poor implementation.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, November 7, Mr Simons said the country must move beyond supporting policies simply because their objectives appear beneficial and pay greater attention to the practical details of their execution.

“I think the problem we have is that we've been misgoverning for so long that we think merely good intentions address issues of policy. So, if you want to do something good, then we just support you,” he said.

He noted that Ghana's development landscape was littered with well-intentioned projects that had been poorly executed, making it necessary to subject government interventions to closer scrutiny.

“Our society is littered with good things that have been badly implemented. So my view is that we need to study everything based on the notion of how it will be implemented, more than whether or not the intention is good. The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” he added.

Mr Simons explained that the assessment of public initiatives should distinguish between politics and policy, explaining that while the political argument behind TraffiTech-GH was difficult to fault, the policy and implementation processes required closer examination.

According to him, the objectives of reducing road accidents, addressing indiscipline among motorists and deploying technology to reduce the cost of public enforcement are legitimate priorities that should attract broad support.

He argued that Ghana, as a country with limited resources, must embrace technology to improve the efficiency of public services and address persistent challenges on its roads.

However, he cautioned that agreeing with the broad objectives of an initiative should not prevent stakeholders from interrogating the practical arrangements underpinning its implementation.

Mr Simons explained that while political messaging often brings several objectives together under a single vision, policy implementation requires breaking those objectives into smaller components and addressing the possible trade-offs, tensions and contradictions.

He said it was at this stage that many government initiatives encountered difficulties.

“The problem is when you are implementing, whereas in politics you aggregate a lot of ideas together and put out one rally banner, stop road carnage, or use technology to improve motorists' behaviour, when you start to do policy, you have to break it all down into little pieces.

“And then it gets very difficult to track the trade-offs, the tensions, the contradictions, etc. And that's where we falter. So, the devil is in the detail,” he stated.

His comments come amid growing public debate over the implementation of TraffiTech-GH, which became operational on November 1, 2026, to detect and penalise traffic violations through automated camera systems.

The initiative is intended to improve road safety, enforce traffic regulations and reduce indiscipline among motorists, but its rollout has triggered concerns about the fairness of its enforcement and the legal framework governing the imposition of fines.