Okada ban okay, but....
At long last the police have decided to clamp down on the activities of commercial motor riders, otherwise known as Okada, in Accra. Okada operations have become very widespread, even pervasive, on the streets of Accra and, indeed, all parts of the country.
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Frankly speaking, Okada operators often offer very useful services to commuters in view of the inadequacy of the public transport system, especially in urban centres.
The streets of Accra are choked with traffic during the rush hours in the morning and the evenings and residents who want to beat the traffic have no option but to use the services of Okada.
Elsewhere in the West African sub-region, Okada operators are offering very useful services to commuters, as public transport is unable to meet the demands of the market.
The danger, however, is that the Okada is being operated without laid down regulations. Some Okada operators do not respect road traffic regulations, as they face oncoming traffic on the road, thereby exposing themselves, the pillion riders and other users of the road to many risks.
In recent times, there have been debate over the effectiveness of the regulations outlawing the use of motorbikes for commercial purposes.
A school of thought holds the view that Okada operations should not be banned but regulated to ensure sanity on the roads, while another school says so long as Legislative Instrument (LI) 2180 bans commercial motorbike operations, the law should remain in force.
These are debatable issues, though, even as LI 2180 outlaws the use of motorbikes for commercial purposes.
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So long as the law remains in force, we commend the police for taking action against operators of Okada with the arrest of 73 of them yesterday. Some of them, we are told, have already been sentenced to serve as a deterrent to others who have the desire to join the business.
Notwithstanding this step by the police, the Daily Graphic calls on the authorities to initiate a debate on the merits and demerits of Okada operations in the country with the view to coming up with a system that meets the aspirations of the people. The present arrangement under which Okada is being operated is not the best, as it makes it difficult for the police to regulate the activities
Other countries in the sub-region tried banning Okada operations but they achieved very little success and we believe our country can learn from them.
Okada operators and vehicles compete for space on the road because there are no lanes reserved for motorbikes.
The Daily Graphic thinks that any discussion on the way forward can then look at the issues that will help the operators run the Okada business within the confines of the road traffic regulations.
We endorse the action of the police to clamp down on the Okada operators in so far as LI 2180 makes Okada operations illegal.
If we think that conditions in our country are such that we need Okada operators to complement the activities of commercial vehicles, then the time has come for us to take another look at LI 2180, so that the review will un-ban Okada operations.