Muntaka calls for revision of legislation to accommodate motorcycles

General News on Friday, March 29, 2019

Source: ghananewsagency.org

2019-03-29

Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, Chief Whip of the minority and MP for Asawase, on Thursday called for a revision of the Road Traffic Regulation 2012 (Legislative Instrument 2180) to allow the operation of motorcycles or tricycles.

In 2012, the House ratified the Road Traffic Regulations to regulate road transport over Ghana, and some parts of the instrument prohibit the use of motorcycles or tricycles, known as respectively under the name of Okada or Adedeta, for commercial purposes.

The review of the law, said the MP, would ensure that these motorcycles or tricycles could be identified, registered, authorized and controlled to operate in compliance with the Highway Code.

In a statement to Parliament, Alhaji Muntaka said it was crucial that the country put in place regulations that would support the commercial activities of runners.

"Such regulation should aim at establishing the appropriate standards and capabilities of a motorcycle or tricycle and its drivers for public transport services," he said.

He called for a review of legal provisions in the light of the possibilities offered by the use of motorcycles or tricycles for commercial purposes, which otherwise escaped the nation due to the ban.

He traced this case to Lagos, the former administrative capital of Nigeria, where motorcycles or tricycles were used to solve the city's notorious traffic congestion problem.

Benefits include reducing congestion and the fastest way to reach offices and parts of the city of Lagos.

"Because of their services, customers compare the movement or operations of motorcycles to those of an Okada airline, Nigeria's first airline, established in the eighties by Mr. Gabriel Egbinedion, the 39, one of Nigeria's first millionaires from Okada Village in the state of Edo.

"Over time, Okada's business has expanded from Lagos to other parts of the country for convenience. This activity has gradually spread to the subregion of West Africa, particularly in Togo, Benin and other parts of Africa. "

Alhaji Muntaka noted that in Ghana motorcycles had become the preferred means of transport for rural people, as it was the easiest and cheapest way to carry out their activities.

Citing for example the five northern and northern regions of the Volta region, he said that the use of motorcycles occupied a crucial part of their daily activities, so that farmers, teachers, nurses and social workers, among others, handed them over to them. to get to their places of work.

Citing the badembly of motorcycles in Ghana, the legislator said that job creation through this activity also had a multiplier effect on the Ghanaian economy, some bikers saving some of their income from this activity to create more companies.

However, operators were cited for violating traffic regulations, including not wearing helmets and careless driving, putting their customers' lives at risk.

"These negative trends have necessitated a call for a total ban on the practice as well as some of the main reasons that initially influenced the adoption of the law," said Alhaji Muntaka. "But I think the benefits outweigh the social costs and as a result, we can not kill the goose that has laid its eggs of gold because of the The country's persistent ban on the use of motorcycles or tricycles for commercial purposes.