Opinions of Wednesday, 26 August 2020

Columnist: Kofi Azumah Xornam aka Zumzum

Okada is here to stay - Thank you President John Mahama?

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana

Why is the ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP) government bent on making sure life is made unbearable for the majority in our country?

Not long ago the supreme court ruled in favour of the ruling NPP government & EC that the popular document - Birth certificate is useless and cannot be used to acquire national id cards.

Meanwhile, it's trite knowledge, not all who acquire voter id card turn out voting, but most people who couldn't afford a passport use voter's id as one of the means in identification in wherever they need be, for the financial transactions, registering for SIM card, just to mention few.

Today, again, one of the cheapest means of transportation is Okada, no two ways about that. That said, it's not surprising the ruling government is against the legalization of this mode of transportation which serves the majority of Ghanaians, just like SC ruling against birth certificate which is a common document to the general public - and which would have helped the ordinary man on the street to easily acquire voter id cards.

Uber, yes, we all could opt for decent means of transportation, but okada provides cheaper services to uber.

V8, yes, just like our ministers and the obese government appointees, we would love to also ride in our V8s, etc. But, if wishes were horses?

For campaign?

We all know the roles okada operators play in the campaign seasons. As these operators are organized by the same politicians to lead them as they tour their constituencies. When one close from work late and cars are not available it's this mode of transportation one depends on. Not that alone, don't be deceived in believing that Accra is Ghana. Okada easily plies unmotorable roads. As most of our roads in the country are not something to write home about.

Job creation?

It's trite knowledge, okada has provided jobs than NABCO, YEA put together. Some of the workers at the collapsed banks now depend on this okada business for survival. Not to talk of the private teachers during this COVID-19 pandemic rely on this okada business as the government refused to cushion them with a token from their SNNIT contributions.

Legalization & regulations?

We must legalize and regulate this mode of transportation as it's here to stay.