It’s Time To ‘Regularize’ Okada – Frank Annoh-Dompreh

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Frank Annoh-Dompreh, NPP MP, Nsawam Adoagyiri, is calling for the regularization of the okada – commercial motorbike – business in the country.

According to him, okada riders are all over town [and villages] operating small stations and terminals as well as rendering what he describes as good services to some citizens of this country.

The Majority Chief Whip of the 8th Parliament in a post on his verified Twitter timeline said, this ‘illegal’ way of operating is risky but it cannot be left unattended forever.

“They are all over Town now, with small stations at or Terminals at some points, they offer ‘good’ services to citizens more often than not…Okada!

“It’s getting risky and it’s time we ‘Regularize’ it.

“It cannot be left unattended to forever!

“Let’s give it a thought!” Frank Annoh-Dompreh tweeted.

The opposition NDC in their ‘People’s Manifesto’ for the 2020 elections indicated that the party will legalize okada if they win the 2020 elections.

John Dramani Mahama, who was the flagbearer for the polls insisted that legalising okada operations is long overdue since such businesses had created more jobs than all the “artificial” job creation avenues.

“There are many young people who have finished school but can’t find any job, so they look for what they can do. There are many young people you see riding motorcycles and transporting people from place to place.

“But according to our laws, okada is illegal. But in reality, okada has become part of us. It has come to stay and you can’t stop it. So I have suggested that when we come into office, we will legalize okada but we will regulate it.

“We will regulate it and give them the necessary training, so they are able to conduct their business in a safe manner. They must obey all the traffic regulations in order to be able to go about their profession,” Mahama said as part of his campaign message.

NPP’s position

But the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, indicated that the governing NPP will not succumb to pressure by the opposition to make the commercial use of okada a legal means of commercial transport.

Speaking at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Volkswagon and BlackIvy for the production of affordable vehicles and houses for Ghanaians, Dr. Bawumia said, the governing party is coming up with a much better option than the legalization of “okada” as promised by the Flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama.

“You don’t want to finish graduate school and then make a life from okada riding. You can have a better option, and we will give you a better option. So yes, we will not legalise the okada business in Ghana. It may be a tough decision but it is in the interest of Ghanaians. We are having discussions, but we will stick to our decision to provide a better alternative for the okada riders. Let give them an opportunity to buy safer vehicles through lease and pay over time. It is a better option than what the alternative is,” he said.

To him, legalising the okada business will cause more than good to the country’s transport industry.

“In the context of what we are doing, I will encourage the okada riders to come in and try to buy these leased vehicles so that they [okada riders] can run businesses. They need to graduate from this risky and less safe okada riding to a safer means of transportation. Their problem will be a lack of capital but if you bring in new leasing policies, and we have our national ID card with our digital addresses and so on, we can have a credit system working and give them an option other than this risky venture,” Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia stressed.

By: ghanaweb.com