Tag: Okada

A road safety expert and transport consultant has said a proposal to legalise the use of motorbikes for use as commercial means of transport (Okada) in the country is a bad one.

Cecil Gabrah believes the promise to legalise and regularise the activity is a political gimmick.

His comments come on the back of a promise by the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, to regulate and legalise Okada if elected as President on December 7, 2020.

Speaking to Joy News, Mr Gabrah said “politicians must not take advantage of their inability to create jobs for the youth and use Okada as bait for votes. That is so wrong in politics and they must stop it.”

According to him, the risk involved in regularising Okada in Ghana is too high.

“In Accra alone we have a lot of very fatal cases. Speak to Korle Bu Teaching and 37 Military Hospital and they will give you the daily statistics of fatalities,” he said.

Proponents of the regularisation and legalisation of Okada say it will create jobs, however, Cecil Gabrah disagrees.

“If you create jobs and people are going to die what are you talking about?” he said.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Public Safety has said a sure way to prevent the associated road accidents with the use of motorbikes as commercial means of transport (Okada) is to move it away from sprawling city centres.

Executive Director of the public safety advocate, Nana Yaw Akwada, told GhanaWeb on Tuesday, August 25, 2020 that reports on Okada-related accidents show that majority of them happen in the busy urban areas.

According to Nana Yaw Akwada, Mr Mahama “must tell us when you say regulating are you going to move them from the city centres? Which is what we at the Bureau prefer; because more than 80% of the deaths associated with the okada cOme from the city centres. And from the commercial spaces, not on our highways or the fringes.”

Ghana’s laws make it illegal for a motorbike or a tricycle (aboboya) to be used as a commercial means of transport, however, for about eight years, their use and popularity have seen sharp rise.

Ghanaweb- Dikoder.com

Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama has strongly defended his promise to legalize the commercial use of motorcycles popularly called ‘okada’ in Ghana if he is elected President on December 7, 2020.

Mr Mahama in an address to chiefs and people of Kpando in the Volta Region as part of his tour of the region said he recognizes the benefits of the ‘okada’ business to the many families that depend on it, hence his promise.

Currently, the use of motorbikes and tricycles for commercial purposes in any form is against Ghana’s Road Traffic Regulations 2012 (L.I 2180).

Some members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have criticized Mahama over the promise describing it as hypocritical and an attempt to lure Ghanaians to vote for him.

But speaking in an interview on XYZ TV, John Mahama who is also a former President said he made this promise because okada it has provided more jobs than any government policy.

“This is a service that has come to stay. Whether you legalize it or not you cannot stop it and so why behave like the ostrich and bury your head in the sand. These okadas have created more jobs in this economy than any government job-related policy. It has created more jobs than NABCo, it has created more jobs than YEA and all those artificial job creation programs.

He further argued that legalizing the trade will enable the government to save the riders from constant harassment from the police since they are currently operating illegally.

“These young people are living under harassment because it is illegal and so the police harass them; they stop them from time to time and take money off them and all that. And so, my suggestion is that we should legalize it and regulate it to make it safer by training the riders, ensuring that the riders observe all the safety precautions and provide a helmet for the passenger.”

The former President also indicated that by regularizing the commercial use of motorcycles, riders will be easily identified to ensure that they go by all traffic regulations.

“We must be able to identify that this is a commercial motorcycle so that we can ensure that they are following the rules and they must obey all traffic regulations. You can’t pick a passenger and get to a red traffic light and ride through. So, I say let’s legalize, let’s regularize because it has created sustainable jobs and people are earning an income out of this.”

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Source: ghbase