The Akrofuom District Assembly in the Ashanti Region has tasked the Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service to clamp down on activities of illegal commercial motor riders, popularly known as ‘okada’ riders, as part of efforts to tackle crime-related issues in the district.
The assembly explained that the MTTD would conduct regular swoops on riders to identify those with unregistered motorbikes who are mostly the perpetrators of crime.
The District Chief Executive(DCE) of the assembly, Maurice Jonas Woode, lamented the increasing rate of crime associated with the ‘okada’ business.
In his address at a General Assembly meeting, Mr Woode said, “The assembly is determined to sanitise the activities of ‘okada’ riders not only for security reasons but also for the safety of those who patronise their services”.
On revenue mobilisation, the DCE stated that the assembly had raised GHC769,000 as of May, representing 87.45% of the projected revenue for 2023. He, however, mentioned that there had been a proposal to review the target upward, having performed creditably after the first half of the year.
Touching on education, he said the district education directorate had taken steps to improve the student-teacher ratio. He added that 68 teachers had been posted to the district, with 48% already at post.
“The DCE has implored the people to complement the assembly’s efforts to create a congenial environment for the newly posted teachers by being hospitable to them in their various communities”.
Woode moreover announced that work on the main hospital block of the Agenda 111 project had been temporarily halted because of technical challenges. However, the residential accommodation is still under construction.