Assemblyman Rejects Okada

REUBEN JEFFERSON Ocansey, Assemblyman for the Homowo Electoral Area in Tema, has openly said that he would sell his share of the motorbikes the government would distribute to all assembly members across the country. �Listen to me, my brother, there is only one honourable man in an electoral area and that is the assemblyman or woman; thus to show respect for this person, a home-used car would be the better alternative,� the assemblyman proposed. Speaking to DAILY GUIDE on Friday about government�s move to distribute motorbikes, popularly called �okada�, Mr. Ocansey said he would not feel comfortable riding on a bike to execute his duties as an assembly member. He said, �As honourable assembly members, why should we ride on an �okada� when our mayors and Members of Parliament (MPs) are cruising in costly four-wheels? �After all, we are not paid for our services. It�s a sacrificial job we are doing so if indeed the government wants to show appreciation for our work, it should respect us by procuring home-used cars for us.� The assemblyman said he would sell his motorbike should his Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Robert Kempes Ofosuware, give his to him. �I am being frank with you, I will sell mine when it�s handed to me and you�ll be the first person I will tell as soon as I dispose of it,� he opined. Sharing a different view, assembly member for Nii Doku Electoral Area, Ashaiman, Yussif Hamidu Gariba, said he was happy when he heard about the motorbikes. He said, �A motorbike for an assembly member is good news to me because assembly members� daily movement to and from the assembly is costly because some of us sometimes board taxis to assembly meetings, especially when we are very far from the assembly. �With regards to the recent thick vehicular traffic in town, the bike should facilitate our movements because it is traffic free,� Mr. Gariba said. He nonetheless entreated the Ministry of Local Government to provide the assembly members with some money for their monthly fuel, explaining that their expenditure on assembly allowances could not meet fuelling cost. Mr. Gariba said he could not wait to receive his share of the 6,060 motorbikes the government had procured for all the assembly members across the country. The government, last Tuesday took delivery of 6,060 motorbikes and 170 four-wheel drives for assembly members and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) respectively, at the forecourt of the Parliament House.