NMG-U head of radio leads road safety crusade
NMG Uganda Managing Director Tony Glencross (left) flags off the JoeWalk at the Monitor Publications Ltd headquarters in Namuwongo, Kampala, on Monday. PHOTOS / STEPHEN OTAGE
What you need to know:
- Dubbed #JoeWalker#Stayinyourlane, the road safety awareness campaign, which was flagged off at the Monitor Publications head office in Namuwongo, Kampala, will see Mr Beyanga, who was joined by a number of friends, walk from Kampala to Bushenyi.
Nation Media Group Uganda (NMG-U) and partners on Monday flagged off a 320km road safety awareness walk where Mr Joseph Beyanga, the head of Radio , will be walking from Kampala to Bushenyi.
Dubbed #JoeWalker#Stayinyourlane, the road safety awareness campaign, which was flagged off at the Monitor Publications head office in Namuwongo, Kampala, will see Mr Beyanga, who was joined by a number of friends, walk from Kampala to Bushenyi.
“I do not know how long it will take me to reach Bushenyi but this walk is about you and me going home safe. Every day, 10 people die of accidents due to reckless driving, which is the cause of 71 percent of accidents,” Mr Beyanga said.
Mr Rogers Nsereko, the Kampala Metropolitan Police traffic commander, who flagged off the walk with Mr Glencross, welcomed the initiative, calling upon more institutions to create such partnerships to reduce on the 3,800 lives which are lost yearly.
“We are happy about this programme. We lose 3,800 people per year. We are happy about this initiative promoting road safety and we are calling on other companies to promote road safety,” he said.
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Mr Glencross revealed that last year, Mr Beyanga approached him with the idea as his corporate social responsibility initiative to give back to society following the Stay in Your Lane Campaign, which he initiated.
Mr Joseph Beyanga, the head of Radio, NMG-U (right) with Ethan Musolini take a break during the walk in Mpigi District.
“Road safety is a concern to the Nation Media Group. We run a courier company, our readers and viewers are all part of the community. As a whole, road safety is a key thing we need to be aware of when walking on the road, driving and when on a boda boda,” he said.
Mr Glencross added that it is critical to educate road users how to behave on the road because knowledge shapes the manner in which they behave while on the road.
Other partners who joined the campaign are Coca Cola Africa Beverages, Vivo Energy, Uganda National Roads Authority, Plascon, Tugende and Nicole Foundation. During the walk, NTV, KFM and all the Nation Media Group social media platforms will be providing live updates about the trek and also all the media platforms will be airing road safety messages.
Other people who joined the walk included Mr Beyanga’s family members and members of University Convention Fellowship, the church he has been praying from in Kikoni, Makerere, since his university days.
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By press time last evening, Mr Beyanga had reached Buwama, about 74kms from Kampala.
