By Michael Oberteye:
The Okada business which surely is an imported culture from West African neighbours Nigeria, still thrives in this country despite the fact that it remains an illegal business. Almost in every cranny of the country, the business is as vibrant as though it has a rightful place in Ghanaian society. It seems as though the police have lost the war against the riders and now look the other way.
Bueryonya in the Lower Manya Krobo district is one spot where the business thrives. Operators of the Okada can always be seen on the standby to transport passengers to neighbouring communities, both near and far such as Okper, Odugblase, Yonguase, Klo Begoro and surrounding communities.
Rite news caught up with some of the Okada operators and tried to find out from them more about their business. Odonkor Kofi Felix is one such operator and he tells Rite news that though the Okada work is not their choice, there is very little they can do since there are no job opportunities in their community.
Being the real custodians of the land, he and other members of the community expected preferential treatment from Ghacem and JA FANJ who mine limestone from the area. However, he pointed out that they have very little or no opportunities for them. He pointed out that they either refuse to give them job opportunities in the mining activity or sack lucky employees at the least offence.
He said they earn very little from their Okada business since most of them do not own the motorbikes.
Another rider, Noah Tettey accused the police of unnecessarily harassing them during their duties. He said they accosted them while on the move and extorted monies from them for offences unknown to them.
He said a number of his colleagues once in a while are engaged in accidents on the roads with some resulting in accidents and deaths.
On the issues of helmets, he said they did not own helmets because the bikes are given to them by their employers without helmets.
They are therefore calling on the government to come to their aid and provide them with decent jobs which will take them away from the Okada business.
Meanwhile, Assembly man for the Oborpa electoral area, Mr. Abraham told Rite News that the Okada operators were in the job out of choice. According to him, farming was their main pre-occupation handed them by their fathers and forefathers and he wondered why the young won’t venture into agriculture in the community.
He compared the cost of acquiring a motor bike to renting a land for farming which he said comes expensive to acquire a motor bike.
He said the mining companies give job opportunities to the youth of the communities but most of them either stop voluntarily or get the sack due to their own attitudes towards the work.
He said there was very little that can be done about the police harassment since the practice remains illegal. Additionally, some of the riders use unregistered motorbikes or riding without helmets.
He however said they were in the process of meeting the Okada operators to regulate their activities due to the several complaints of reckless riding, hitting and killing animals, speeding, etc, that they receive from members of the communities.
He maintains that though the practice is illegal, it still remains the source of livelihood for many of the young people in the community.
Source: ritefmonline.org
