Bylaws For Motorbikes Appropriate

Motorists and pedestrians in Accra will shower plaudits on the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, when he succeeds in restoring orderliness on the streets of Accra.

The minister has announced plans to enact appropriate bylaws to regulate the use of motorbikes in the nation's capital.

The streets of Accra are nightmarish for motorists and pedestrians alike because of the recklessness of motorcyclists especially the commercial ones, otherwise called okada.

They crisscross the streets so recklessly that they endanger the lives of pedestrians and pillion riders in the case of the commercial riders.

The commercial motorcyclists whose occupation is outlawed anyway constitute the largest portion of users of this means of transport in the streets of Accra.

They do not obey traffic lights ignoring for instance the red light to stop recklessness which has claimed many lives in the city.

There have been many instances of motorcycle knockdowns, some of them fatally.  It is not surprising that a few years ago during the regime of the NDC, a law was passed outlawing the use of motorbikes for commercial purposes.

Unfortunately, however, the subject was politicised in the heat of the last elections with some politicians seeking to douse the importance of the law by promising the operators that, they would be allowed to operate, in breach of the law.

Today, the hymn has changed and most Ghanaians especially, motorists and pedestrians, having observed the nuisance and accidents occasioned by motorcyclists in Accra, have agreed that the use of this means of transport must be regulated for the sake of sanity.

It is irresponsible when the authorities fold their arms as people lose their lives through avoidable motorcycle accidents in Accra.

It is for this reason that we find it worthwhile, the decision by the regional minister to have appropriate bylaws enacted for motorcycle use in Accra.

The number of fatalities, this year, through motorcycle accidents, is alarming and when we consider the fact that we are just midway through the year, we think that not doing anything about the situation should not be an option.

We have reservations however, about the bylaws even as we deem them necessary. Will the bylaws be enforceable?

Without an enforcement mechanism, the bylaws would be useless.  There are for instance appropriate bylaws dealing with sanitation, which must be enforced by the various MMDAs, but which are not.

It is this fact which informed  the regional minister and the regional coordinating council to embark upon the making Accra work project.

When the announced bylaws are enacted, the regional minister should task the MMDCEs to enforce them.

The ability to enforce such bylaws should be one of the criteria to rank their performance as MMDCEs.