GHANA :‘Enforce L.I 2180 to ban okada now’

The Centre for Transport Security Dialogue has petitioned the Presidency to as a matter of urgency consider the strict enforcement of the L.I 2180(Sub section 128) which prohibits the mandated institutions from registering motorcycles and tricycles to operate commercially.

Though the law has been in existence for almost six years, the Motor Traffic and Transport Department has failed woefully to effectively enforce the law. This has resulted in a massive boom in the illegal motorcycle (Okada) operations in major cities while the tricycles thrives in the rural areas.

Realizing the ill-effects of the operations of these illegal motorcycles and tricycles and the concerns raised over safety and security, CETSED as an NGO with special focus on Transport safety and security decided to go beyond the rhetoric and activate the ‘citizenship’ clause to petition the seat of government calling for strict enforcement of the law.

According to Kwaku Ankoma-Abrokwaa who is CETSED’s Acting Communications Director, Ghana is raising lion as a pet by the way it is handling the Okada situation and the earlier it stops the better.

He reminded the law enforcement agencies that, the days of giving excuses to justify ineffectiveness are over and that the ordinary Ghanaian is ready to demand answers to begging questions.

He maintained that,Ghana cannot continue this way and expect things to change for the better; the change message that won the then opposition candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo now President cannot come on a silver platter.

Mr Ankoma- Abrokwaa added that, years of poor law enforcement , attitudinal deficiency and general indiscipline has resulted in extensive environmental degradation, water pollution, forest depletion etc all costing the nation colossal amounts of money annually. These and other excesses caused by poor and sometimes inadequate law enforcement are what has necessitated this petition calling on the government to strictly enforce the law.

Attached are copies of the Petition