Abstract
Rapid urbanisation in Ghana over the last two decades in particular is straining the capacity of the cities to provide basic infrastructure, degrading the quality of life and impoverishing the urban environment. In Accra, an obvious lack of co-ordinated land-use planning and the enforcement of appropriate regulations have made the challenges in the transport sector very daunting, with traffic congestion growing by the day. The situation has compelled some commuters to adopt strategies to navigate themselves in the city in order to avoid the traffic menace. Based on questionnaire and in-depth interviews with individuals and stakeholders engaged in and connected to one such strategy, ‘Okada transport’, the study demonstrates why the commercialisation of the motor-cycle still thrives though it is in conflict with and a clear violation of the existing road transport regulations. The findings confirm that the authorities’ inability to plan holistically has dislocated the urban system and indeed led to a virtual infrastructural systemic breakdown, compelling frustrated commuters to find adaptation strategies. The study posits that the trend is likely to continue and perhaps even accelerate unless a well planned policy intervention, such as the Rapid Bus Transit, is adopted and efficiently implemented.
Highlights
Rapid urbanisation is a global phenomenon, and like all human induced changes, it is a response to socio-economic, political or environmental conditions, characterised by an unprecedented concentration of humans in cities (Satterwhaite, 1996; Masek et al, 2000; Songsore, 2003)
In Accra, an obvious lack of co-ordinated land-use planning and the enforcement of appropriate regulations have made the challenges in the transport sector very daunting, with traffic congestion growing by the day
Such policies, including the outlawing of the “Okada” practice without reference to local knowledge, tend to stifle local initiative as people see themselves as those with special needs to be met by ‘outsiders’. This runs contrary to the realities of ‘distressed populations’ who focus vast amounts of creativity and intelligence on survival-motivated challenges. It is from this perspective that we explore the prevalence of Okada transport at a time when the neighbouring countries where the practice allegedly originated have officially outlawed the practice
Summary
Rapid urbanisation is a global phenomenon, and like all human induced changes, it is a response to socio-economic, political or environmental conditions, characterised by an unprecedented concentration of humans in cities (Satterwhaite, 1996; Masek et al, 2000; Songsore, 2003). The transport system has suffered a dip with increasing urbanization, and this presents a clear challenge to the city authorities This includes congested central areas, poor level of service from public operators and high exposure to road accidents (Kwakye and Fouracre, 1998). The deficiencies in the current system and their attendant frustrations in the face of growing urban youth unemployment (Oteng-Ababio, 2011; Grant and Oteng-Ababio, 2011) have given birth to the use of motorcycles for commercial services, a practice popularly referred to as “Okada”, a term purported to have originated from a defunct Nigerian Airline, OKADA AIR This practice is in contravention of the existing transport legal regime and a section of the population sees the operators as “rude and indisciplined”. Our choice of systems dynamics emanates from our firm belief that within the urban milieu, infrastructure system work in a holistic manner and in tandem with the urbanisation process and that a shortfall in any one of the sub-sectors will have a negative feedback on the whole system
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