Taking taxi drivers from crime mix
The taxi industry has been with us for a long time now. Though it may be difficult to put a finger on how the business started, oral history has it that it was formalised by the late Krobo Edusei, a Minister in the First Republic.
He is also credited with the identification colours of our taxis to separate them from other vehicles.
Taxis are a key component of the transport industry and, therefore, contribute immensely to the socio-economic growth of the country. They provide a ready employment for mostly the youth who cannot pursue education to an advanced level. They are also the preferred choice of most tourists visiting the country from all corners of the world.
There can hardly be a thriving tourism industry without the input of taxis. In rural areas especially, taxis are an important part of the food chain as they help in carting foodstuff from the farm gates to the market centres.
In the area of emergencies and prompt health care, taxis have always played an important role in transporting the sick and the injured to hospitals. This is very critical considering that our ambulance service is not very developed and is limited in scope.
In a few instances, taxi drivers have helped our security agencies to abort crime. A case in point is the Koala robbery where a taxi driver aborted the attempt of two motorbike riders to rob an employee of the Koala supermarket who had been sent to deposit some money in the bank.
Despite the seemingly positive contribution of taxis to our national development, the other side of the industry looks disturbing; and here we are talking about the number of taxi drivers who facilitate the work of criminals. A casual glance at the dailies reveal that taxi drivers are almost always involved in getting criminals to crime spots and using them as a getaway after their operations. There seems to be an unhealthy alliance between the two groups. This is even truer in the car- stealing business where the services of drivers are employed.
Taxi drivers have also been complicit in the kidnapping of children and others. In short, the list of taxi drivers in all manner of criminal activities keeps mounting, thereby carving a negative outlook for an otherwise useful industry.
It is in this regard that the police need to streamline measures to curtail the involvement of taxi drivers in crime. This is because taxi drivers come into contact with people of diverse backgrounds and can be a good source of information on fighting crime.
There must be continuous education of taxi drivers on the need to support the police in fighting crime. Here, a greater collaboration with taxi unions is required. The media’s involvement in this exercise is critical. Of course, this must go with an appropriate motivation package, as was the case in the Koala issue where the driver was reportedly given a vehicle by the supermarket and another by the police. Related to this is the need for all taxi drivers to belong to identifiable unions and their data captured onto a national database. Of course, background checks will have to be done on would-be taxi drivers so that it does not become free for all as it is now where just anybody at all, including criminals, can become taxi drivers. Phone contacts must be boldly written on vehicles so that when necessary, drivers could be tracked and passengers could also call for service.
Elsewhere, there is even an entry examination for taxi drivers, all aimed at weeding out unscrupulous elements.
Perhaps we could also look at the colour-coding system and restrict cabs to specific geographical locations. This helps in monitoring the movement of taxis.
The essential services taxi drivers continue to render will always be recognised but we also have to ensure that they remain what we recognise them for and not robbers behind wheels.
Writer’s E-mail :doreen.hammond@graphic.com.gh/aamakai@rocketmail.com