Burkina Faso/Road safety: ONASER provides training on national and EU road control regulations
The Office national de la sécurité routière (ONASER - National Road Safety Office) is organizing a training workshop in Bobo-Dioulasso on April 16 and 17, 2025, on national and EU regulations governing roadside checks and road safety. The workshop is being held for 100 agents from the Defense and Security Forces (FDS) responsible for road safety. The theme of the workshop is "National and Community regulations on roadside checks and road safety". The workshop opened on Wednesday April 16, 2025, under the chairmanship of the Governor of the Hauts-Bassins region, represented by his technical advisor Souleymane Drabo.
As part of its road safety mission, the Office national de la sécurité routière (National Road Safety Office) is organizing a series of training courses for 200 officers from the defense and security forces. These include members of the national police force, the municipal police and the national gendarmerie, all of whom are responsible for road safety. The organization of this series of training courses is part of ONASER's 2025 program of activities. A total of 100 agents will be trained on April 16 and 17 in Bobo-Dioulasso, and a further 100 on April 23 and 24, 2025 in Ouagadougou.
Specifically, these training courses will enable participants to familiarize themselves with the national and European institutional framework for road safety; to understand and appropriate national and European regulatory texts; and to develop their skills in the field of road safety.appropriation des textes réglementaires nationaux et communautaires sur les contrôles routiers et la sécurité routière; et de se doter des différents textes réglementaires. In addition, participants will learn about the use and importance of the first-aid box, and reinforce their knowledge of first-aid techniques before the arrival of professionals.
The first phase of this training series kicked off on Wednesday April 16 in Bobo-Dioulasso. The opening ceremony was chaired by the Governor of the Hauts-Bassins region, represented by his technical advisor Souleymane Drabo. In his address, he stressed the importance of training in view of the numerous cases of accidents recorded in Burkina Faso, and particularly in Bobo-Dioulasso.
Indeed, the number of road accidents in Burkina Faso remains high. In 2021 and 2022 respectively, the Office national de la sécurité routière recorded 22,674 cases of road accidents, with 944 people killed, and 24,686 cases, with 1,150 people killed. In 2023, 22,156 road accidents were recorded, with 906 people killed. Over the period 2019 to 2023, a total of 113,409 cases of road accidents are recorded, resulting in 5,366 people killed on the spot.
These figures suggest that solutions must be found to reverse the trend. For ONASER, this means strengthening the capacities of road safety stakeholders. "One of ONASER's key missions is to promote road safety. And we often say that road safety is everybody's business. So, to ensure that road safety stakeholders are truly involved, ONASER plans to strengthen the capacities of the FDS to support it in carrying out its missions.When it comes to road safety, the FDS have a vital role to play. That's why we thought it was a good idea to strengthen their capacities", said Boudnoma Nina Samé/Yaméogo, Director of Planning and Promotion of Road Safety and representative of ONASER's Director General.
The training is being provided by public administration executives from ONASER, the Red Cross, the National Fire Brigade (BNSP) and the Directorate General of Land and Maritime Transport (DGTTM). At the end of the workshop, their capacities will be strengthened with regard to national and EU regulations on roadside checks and road safety.
Speaking on behalf of the regional governor, Souleymane Drabo praised the training. "The city of Bobo-Dioulasso is confronted with numerous accidents, especially on National Highway No. 1, where several cases of accidents with fatalities are recorded each month. Given all these statistics, ONASER decided to train the key players on our roads, those who follow road safety regulations and those who apply the laws in this field. That's why it was appropriate for us to come and encourage the players and show them our gratitude for the efforts they have already made on our roads, and to ask them for even more self-sacrifice and hard work to make our roads safer", he said.
According to him, the organization of this training workshop will enable us to strengthen the capacities of those involved, so as to achieve more appreciable results in the field. He believes that this will help save many lives. He does not fail to express his expectations of this workshop. "First of all, we would like the participants to be well trained, because if they are well trained, they will certainly be able to implement road safety regulations. We also expect them to master road safety regulations, whether community or inter-community, so that at the end of this workshop, we have exemplary FDSs. This, to enforce the regulations on our various roads", he wished.
Source: lefaso.net/
