By Dennis Peprah
Sunyani, Feb. 27, GNA – The National Tricycle Operators Association (Pragyia Riders) has welcomed the State of the Nation’s Address (SONA), delivered by President John Dramani Mahama with joy, anticipating the proposed nationwide regularisation of tricycle operations with high hopes.
Regulation 128 of the Road Traffic Regulations 2012 (LI2180) prohibits the use of tricycles for fare paying passengers in the country.
However, President Mahama announced plans to legalize the operations of the tricycle riders when he delivered the SONA in Parliament on Thursday.
In a reaction, the members of the association said they were highly excited and expressed appreciation to the President for his intentions, saying regularization of their economic activities would not only thrive their operations, but also create more jobs for the teeming unemployed youth.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, Mr Yaw Eric Atanga, the President of the Sunyani Municipal branch of the Association described the move by the government as laudable.
He said though their activities were regarded illegal, the sector offered job opportunities for thousands of young people in the Sunyani Municipality alone, saying when the activities were regularised the government could generate huge revenue from the sector.
“Now we have close to four million members across the nation and they and their families depended on that for a living”, he stated.
One of the riders, Awudu Issaka, said besides the economic prospects, their operations also provided essential needs to market women, traders and buyers, and expressed the hope that the government would expedite action for the legalization of their operations.
GNA