Tain MP Hails Legalization of Okada as Parliament Passes Road Traffic Amendment Bill
Parliament has on Thursday, December 11, 2025, passed the Road Traffic Amendment Bill, a significant piece of legislation that legalizes the commercial use of motorbikes and tricycles, popularly known as “Okada.”
The passage of the bill, which now awaits the President’s assent to become law, was immediately hailed by the Member of Parliament for Tain, Hon. Adama Sulemana, who commended President John Mahama for fulfilling a key campaign promise to regularise the ‘Okada’ business.
In an interview with members of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) following the bill’s passage, Hon. Sulemana described the day as “a good day” for young people in his constituency and across the nation, emphasizing the legislation’s dual benefits of economic opportunity and enhanced safety.
Economic Opportunity and Job Creation
The MP stressed that the legalization will significantly boost economic opportunities for young people who previously engaged in the activity illegally.
“One, it increases economic opportunities for young people who otherwise would have been home,” Hon. Sulemana stated. “Now that we have a legal bargain, it empowers us… we already have the associations there, the Okada Riders Association in all parts of my constituency. What we need to do is regulate them, to even resource them, to help them get some of these tricycles and quadricycles to be able to
He noted that the new law offers a legal framework for him to collaborate with and empower the youth in his constituency, particularly those who operate tricycles and quadricycles in the predominantly urban area.
Safety Measures Incorporated
Addressing the prevalent concerns raised by his colleagues regarding the high-risk factor and fatal accidents associated with ‘Okada’ riders, Hon. Sulemana assured the public that these issues have been meticulously factored into the new legislation.
“If you go through the bill which has been passed, you realise that these risk factors have also been taken into consideration,” he explained. The new Act incorporates critical safety measures for operators, including a stipulated minimum age of 21 years for commercial riders.
“We have put in the minimum years… so that we don’t take people out of school, people who are in school to come and do these services,” he added. The MP concluded that while risk exists in all forms of transport, Parliament has taken the necessary steps to “put in the safety measures to be able to ameliorate the risks that will be associated with this.”
The bill is expected to be assented to by President John Mahama, officially transforming the informal transport sector into a regulated industry, thereby increasing transportation carriage and opportunities nationwide.
Source: Felix Nyaaba/expressnewsghana.com
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