Kojo Acquah, MCE for Effia Kwesimintim
The Effia-Kwesimintim Municipal Assembly in the Western Region has, with immediate effect, banned all owners and operators of ‘Pragia’ and ‘Aboboyaa’ from doing business in the municipality.
Kojo Acquah, the Municipal Chief Executive, says anyone rider caught doing business from Monday October 25 will be arrested and fined, with his machine also confiscated.
He said the security agencies, particularly the police and assembly’s guards, had been tasked to go out there arresting all recalcitrant riders. Delivering his address at the assembly’s sitting on Monday, Mr Acquah said the ban forms part of measures by his administration to control road accidents, avoidable injuries and deaths.
Harm on roads
He said the activities of ‘pragia’ and ‘aboboyaa’ riders are causing more harm than good in the municipality, hence the decision for the ban.
According to him, many of the riders are inexperienced teenagers below age 18 who have no certificate or documents that empower them to ride. The MCE disclosed that the assembly’s decision to ban their operations was taken in consultation with Regional Security Council, Road Safety Commission, Police and other stakeholders.
Concerns by chiefs
Information available to the Daily Statesman indicates that similar ban will soon be enforced by the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly.
‘Pragia’ and ‘aboboyaa’ riders in the oil region are giving opinion leaders severe headache, with some traditional rulers complaining bitterly about their operations. Apart from causing harm on the road, these riders are also said to be indiscriminately sleeping with and impregnating teenage girls in remote communities.
A chief in one of the villages in the Wassa East district recently complained about how these riders are enticing young girls in his community with Ndomie, fried eggs and bread. The pathetic aspect of the story, he said, is that these girls are usually abandoned by their ‘pragia’ and ‘aboboyaa’ boyfriends after being impregnated.
