It’s time to legalise okada in Ghana – Deputy Minister
A Deputy Minister for Local Government, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye is calling for a review of provisions outlawing the use of motorbikes for commercial transport, otherwise called ‘okada’ in Ghana.
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He says the law may have outlived its usefulness given the crucial roles motorbikes are playing in the whole transportation mix of nearby and distant countries, while reasons offered for clamping down on the practice in Ghana, such as spate of accidents and the use of motorbikes to commit crimes, do not hold water.
Nii Lante does not believe that motorbike fatalities come anywhere near vehicular accident fatalities; besides Ghana has not banned the use of vehicles on the roads in spite of many crimes involving vehicles.
Ghana in 2012 outlawed the use of motorbikes for commercial transport, providing in Section 128 (1) of the Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 that "The licensing authority shall not register a motorcycle to carry a fare-paying passenger."
The law also prohibits any person from using a motorcycle or tricycle for commercial purposes except for courier and delivery services, while it also prohibits pillions from riding on a motorcycle or tricycle as paying passengers. Offenders are liable to fines or imprisonment.
But the Deputy Minister told Radio Gold on Tuesday morning that laws cannot be seen to be discriminatory, “so when you pass a law, the law should be for the general good. There are certain parts of this country where there is nothing you can do but to legalise the operations of okada in order for people to move from one place to the other because without okada, there is no way the people could be transported over there.
“I’ve been to certain parts of this country where… the only means of transportation for those people who are sick, or for pregnant women to be taken to maternity homes or hospitals, (is) only by means of motorbikes. So in that situation what do you do? If the law is such that such things are not permitted, in those circumstances what do you do? I have been to certain places where the road network is such that it is only by means of okada that you can reach another part of the country, so what do you do in those situations? Yon can’t say the law should operate only in Accra and Kumasi and possibly in Tamale and forget about the rural areas. The law is law.”
Pointing to the United Kingdom for instance, Nii Lante said motorbikes and bicycles are serious means of transport such that the Prime Minister David Cameron used it to go to his office, while in New York it is being encouraged not only as a means of transport but for its health benefits.
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The same goes for India and China, as well as in London where tricycles are popular means of transport for tourists and holiday makers, he said.
“So I think that the world has moved on, and the world has moved to a level whereby such things are obvious circumstances that you cannot avoid so what you have to do is to build up structures that will support such systems and make them very operational, very effective and enjoyable.”
Pointing to how proper regulations could streamline okada operations in the country and guarantee safety of users, Nii Lante said operators could be brought under legal bounds in the areas of registration, security, guarantees, insurance and others.
“So I think that you cannot just pass a law for the sake of the law. When it comes to a time and you think that the law has become outmoded, the law, you think is being flouted with impunity and checking the law will be difficult because of the exigencies of the time, you take a look at the law again and see whether you can change the law to meet the present circumstances.”