The New Patriotic Party (NPP) government says it is working hard to provide a safer, more viable, decent and durable alternative to the commercialisation of motorcycle popularly known as Okada.
The Okada debate has been rekindled after the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) said it would legalise motorcycle for commercial transport in its 2020 Manifesto.
The same party outlawed Okada in 2012 when it was in government and some people are insisting that the proposed policy is a ‘populist’ means intended to influence voters, especially riders of Okada.
Professional bodies, such as the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), have already kicked against the NDC’s proposal, saying that legalisation of motorcycles for commercial usage would further inundate the accident and emergency units of healthcare centres in the country with injured persons.
Early this year, the Lagos State of Nigeria, where commercial motorcycle is a popular means of transport, banned its operation, citing safety and security issues as the main concerns.
Speaking to the issue, the NPP Director of Communications, Yaw Boaben Asamoa, said the government has an Okada alternative plan it intends to roll out as part of a bigger plan for revamping public transport sector.
His comment comes after Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia revealed on Wednesday that the government was seeking to provide the needed support to Okada riders to purchase brand new cars assembled in the country in order to engage in a much safer venture.
“We have a progressive transport plan inclined towards improved safety of the commercial sector of our public transport system. It is a progressive process. We are opening up the country. We are putting out the roads. We are building an integrated automotive centre that vastly improves commercial transportation in this country,” Mr. Asamoa said.
According to him, the NPP government has the best interests of the Okada riders at heart pointing out that “in spite of the existing law, we are still tolerating them.”
“This plan for okadas is part of a bigger plan to revamp the public transport. We intend to change the dynamics in public transportation, and we have a plan and that is a plan we are going to implement, and it depends on the integrated industry which creates jobs and produces outputs that can be adapted specifically to our roads,” he added.
Background
Vice-President Dr. Bawumia had said the NPP government would offer an alternative policy that would offer new cars to Okada operators on a lease basis in order for them to carry out their activities in a much safer manner.
Speaking at the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Volkswagen and Black Ivy for the production of affordable vehicles and houses for Ghanaians, Dr. Bawumia indicated that this was a better option than the legalisation of okadas.
According to him, the government would not succumb to any pressure to amend the law banning the use of motorcycle as taxis since it is not only unsafe for riders but also puts the lives of patrons and other road users in greater risk.
“I know that there is a recent discussion about Okada in Ghana; this motorcycle transport. I think that in the context of what we are doing, we would rather encourage the Okada riders to come in and try to buy a lease or lease these vehicles, so that they can run businesses. They need to graduate from this risky and less safe Okada riding to a safer means of transportation,” he stressed.
The Vice-President said the government acknowledges the operators of Okada do not have the means to purchase brand new cars but was quick to say “if you bring in leasing policies and we have our national ID cards with our digital addresses and so on, we can have a credit system working and give you an option, rather than this risky Okada business.”
“You don’t want to finish graduate school and then you make a life in Okada riding. You can have a better option, and we will give you a better option,” he asserted.
Dr. Bawumia insisted that “it is in the interest of Ghanaians” for motorcycles not to be legalised, disclosing that “we have had discussions. We will stick to our decision to provide a better alternative for the Okada riders.”
“Let’s give them the opportunities to lease safer vehicles and pay over time, and I think it’s a better option than what the alternative is (Okada),” he said.
Interestingly, Imani Ghana and its boss Franklin Cudjoe, who have always been preaching development, are the ones supporting Okada legalisation against the odds.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu