Franklin Cudjoe is the President of IMANI Africa
• Dr Bawumia promised that an NPP government will facilitate the purchase of cars for Okada riders
• He said then that government was never going to legalize Okada in the country
•Mahama promised to legalize Okada if elected as president
At the height of the Okada discourse in the lead up to the 2020 elections, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia in an attempt to dissuade the riders from buying into John Dramani Mahama’s promise of regularizing the industry, made a counter promise of providing cars for the riders and getting them off the ‘risky’ Okada business should they vote for the New Patriotic Party.
The two sets of promises from the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress and the vice presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party became one of the most topical issues in the election.
The regularization of the commercial motorcycle service was one of the promises on which the campaign of John Dramani Mahama was anchored.
Mahamudu Bawumia described it as populist and not a thought through promise and one which meant to harm the Ghanaian youth and not an answer to the employment issues.
He thus promise to facilitate the acquisition of cars for all the motorcycle riders in order to get them to stop riding Okada.
“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,” Bawumia said.
It has been eight months since Bawumia and Nana Akufo-Addo won the election and not much has been heard of it.
Franklin Cudjoe is interested in the matter and has taken to Facebook to enquire about that particular promise.
“When are the Okada riders getting the cars?” he posted.
It will be recalled that in April, the National Concerned Drivers Association served a reminder to Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia over the promise.
“We want the NPP-Government to know that when they needed us, we were there for them. When they promised us vehicles, we were happy about it and voted for them but after the election, they have neglected us,” he said.
He added that “We want to tell them to fulfil their promise, so that tomorrow when they give us direction, we will follow it,” the National President of Okada Riders Association of Ghana, Mohammed Apambila told Atinka FM.
