Okada legalisation to enhance tax revenue
The illegal, but unavoidable Okada business, has been booming in Ghana since 2008.
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It was born out of the observation that daily commuters faced long waits and struggled for transportation at bus stops.
The use of motorbikes for commercial purposes, popularly referred to as Okada, is not lawful in Ghana, but authorities have not succeeded in stopping it.
Section 128(1) of the Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 states: "The Licensing authority shall not register a motorcycle to carry a fare-paying passenger."
Despite harassment, extortion and arrests of Okada operators, the business continues to boom.
The Director of Urban Studies at the University of Ghana in 2020, Prof. Martin Oteng-Ababio, argued in an interview on Citi Breakfast Show that no country had succeeded in banning motorcycles from being used commercially.
He pointed out that in Nigeria, motorcycles were restricted to certain areas.
Okada activities are said to be the cause of most road accidents in Ghana. But, is that reason enough to ban them without adequately providing alternatives?
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Accidents must not be an issue to ban Okada operations.
The benefits of legalising Okada are enormous. Apart from providing jobs and facilitating the 24-hour economy, it will also be a major source of tax revenue for the government.
Legalising Okada will widen the tax base, integrating the riders into our tax administration.
Reports have it that there are over 800,000 Okada operators in Ghana as of 2020, with numbers increasing yearly and there is a high potential for its legalisation.
Excluding weekends, Okada riders save GH¢13,000.00 in a quarter. A quarterly income tax payment of GH¢40.00 will be in order.
This will automatically increase the total tax revenue annually, not to mention the growing number of operators the legalisation will bring into the business and the purchase of more motorbikes to ply this trade.
Okada can be a cash cow for the government and we must all unite to ensure its legalisation, irrespective of whoever wins the 2024 elections.
Taluta Gbanha Mahama,
Sissala West District.
E-mail: mymahamataluta@gmail.com