He urged the Authority to sanction any staff found culpable in flouting the organisation’s policy, especially on sexual harassment, violence and bullying to serve as deterrent to others.

Prof. Amponsah-Tawiah made the call in Accra during a presentation to mark this year's VRA Safety Awareness Day. The event was on the theme: "Leadership Commitment and Worker Participation in Health, Safety, and Environment - Key Requirement in our 'BRAISE' Strategy".

The 'BRAISE' is six strategic themes and acronym for: Build, nurture and develop VRA's human capital, Restore VRA’s finances, and Advance Internal and External Business Process. Others are Improve operational and project implementation efficiencies, Sustain VRA’s position as a market leader and Ensure development in a sustainable manner.

The event is to create awareness about the importance of occupational health and safety for VRA and other organisations in the country. Prof. Amponsah-Tawiah said: "The rate of fatal injuries in Ghana rose from 20.6 per every 100,000 workers in 1998 to 28 per every 100,000 workers in 2017."

He urged organisations to put in place comprehensive health and safety policies to safeguard workers’ safety in their working environment to enable them to give of their best. He urged the VRA to institute a reward scheme to recognise positive behaviours of employees to increase their morale and confidence and improve productivity.

Prof. Amponsah-Tawiah challenged management of companies to punish any negative act by employees that put the safety of the work and others in jeopardy. "Management should establish a formalised process for corrective action to respond to safety concerns and as well conduct blame-free investigations of close calls and incidents,” he added.

He said it was imperative for management to make available financial resources to support the effective implementation and maintenance of safety-related activities. "Management should allocate resources for safety education and communication, safety training of employees and invest in systems to enhance accident reporting and information gathering," Prof. Amponsah-Tawiah said.

He urged organisations to incorporate and integrate appropriate health and safety language into applicable policies and procedures.  Mr Ebenezer Antwi-Darkwah, the Chief Executive Officer of VRA, in a speech read on his behalf, said the introduction of the 'BRAISE' remained the primary focus of the Authority to restructure its strategic plans in 2019.

He said occupational safety was the responsibility of every worker, hence, they should make personal commitments to improve the working environment. He said management would work assiduously to implement the Authority's Occupational Health and Safety policies, especially on sexual harassment.

Management of VRA has dedicated to celebrate safety awareness on the last week of November, every year, to drum home the need to practice safety at the workplace. Management presented a plaque to deserving departments that complied with the Authority's health and safety practices.

The departments are the Human Resource in Accra, Procurement in Akosombo, Operation in Tema, Kpong Thermal Power Station, Hydrogeneration in Akosombo, and Management Information System in Accra.