The Chief of Jachie in the Bosomtwe District of the Ashanti Region, Baffour Kwaku Amoateng IV, has partnered with the Ghana Police Service to regulate the use of motorcycles and tricycles in the community.
The move comes in the wake of underage riders of motorcycles and tricycles flooding the area, leading residents to lament and compelling the Jachiehene and the Police Service to meet them for a dialogue to find a solution to the issue.
Some concerned residents had been lamenting the reckless riding of Pragya motorcycles and tricycles within the community, which kept resulting in accidents and serious injuries to some residents.
Apart from the reckless riding, they also lamented excessive honking and other forms of noise disturbing the peace of residents at night.
These concerns were raised last Thursday at Jachie during a community durbar organised by the Jachiehene in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service to iron out issues relating to the operations of the tricycle and motorcycle users in the community.
Present at the function were some parents, the tricycle and motorcycle riders, owners of the tricycles, the Police, among others.
Speaking at the durbar, Baffour Kwaku Amoateng IV warned that persons below the legally permitted age, when caught riding motorcycles, would face the full rigours of the law.
He then urged the Police to strive to ensure that sanity prevailed on roads and in the community for the people to live in peace to undertake their day-to-day activities.
Baffour Amoateng IV appealed to parents to properly advise and monitor their wards, urging them to take advantage of educational opportunities rather than seeking quick money through motorcycle riding.
He stressed that nobody would be given preferential treatment in the enforcement of the directive.
Chief Inspector Jacob Tetteh, the Station Officer for the Jachie Police Station, also assured residents that the Police would strictly enforce the law, particularly against persons below the legally permitted age who are found riding motorcycles.
He appealed to the residents to volunteer information to the police at all times when they find the behaviour of any citizen suspicious or find anyone committing any form of crime.
Various speakers at the function urged parents, motorcycle owners and riders to cooperate with the measures to promote safety and maintain peace within Jachie.
Background
Following the cheap cost and the flexible nature of the use of the tricycles and motorbikes have made it expedient for some residents in the Bosomtwe District, especially Jachie, to patronise them.
However, the lack of supervision and regulation of the bikes has led to the riders in the community flouting the laws governing their operations, attracting numerous complaints from some residents in the community.
The dialogue initiated by the Jachiehene was to sensitise the various stakeholders who use the bikes to be abreast of what was expected of them as owners, parents, riders and users as well.
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