The Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly in the Ashanti Region has banned minors and foreigners from operating ‘Adedeta’ tricycles as part of efforts to restore discipline and improve road safety within the municipality.

The directive was issued by the Municipal Security Council (MUSEC) following increasing complaints about traffic violations involving tricycle operators.

Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) Ben Abdallah Alhassan said the growing number of tricycles operating in the area required urgent regulatory action to minimise risks to residents.

“Our statistics currently put their total number at around 3,000. So we have 3,000 of these rickshaws or ‘adedeta’ or ‘pragia’ operators who ply our routes or roads daily. And, take it or leave it, it has become the main means of intra-municipal transport. We feel the patronage is very high, and so if there is anything that we can do to ensure that we minimise the negative effects or impacts of their operations, we should be in a position to do that.

We get a lot of complaints, and we decided as MUSEC to take the bull by the horns and put in place certain very necessary measures to ensure that we safeguard the safety of our people. Actually, the issue of foreigners who are engaged in the operation or riding of ‘adedeta’ within our municipality is very worrying,” he told JoyNews.

According to the Assembly, about 90 per cent of the more than 30,000 tricycle operators in the municipality are foreigners, a situation it says contravenes the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act 865 of 2013.

“The majority of the riders, as I rightly pointed out, are people who come from neighbouring African countries like Niger. In fact, the majority of them are from Niger. We have a few of them from Chad, we have a few of our brothers from Nigeria,” Mr Alhassan stated.

He explained that the Assembly considers the situation both illegal and unsafe, noting that some foreign operators are unfamiliar with local traffic regulations.

“Currently, if you come across 10 riders within the municipality, you are likely to have about eight to nine of them being foreigners. Yes, and apart from the fact that that is illegal per the dictates of the GIPC Act, we also feel that because they don’t know our laws very well, they flout our road traffic regulations and ride anyhow, and that is becoming detrimental to the safety of our people,” he added.

Under Article 27 Clause 1(b) of the GIPC Act 865, the operation of taxis and car-hiring services is reserved for Ghanaians.

As part of the enforcement measures, the Assembly will also arrest minors found operating tricycles, as well as owners who employ them, beginning April 15, 2026.

“Very often, you come across minors as young as 16 years, some 17 years maximum, and they ride some of these pragia or adedet, and we feel that it’s not right. And a lot of these road traffic accidents and infractions are also associated with the riders within this age bracket,” Mr Alhassan explained.

Ahead of the implementation, MUSEC has scheduled stakeholder engagements with operators to ensure awareness and compliance.

Mr Alhassan stressed that the directive is intended to promote safety rather than punish operators.

“I must add as well that this is not more or less a persecution. It is not an attempt to chase them out of business. It is an attempt to inject sanity,” he said.

Meanwhile, the National Union of Tricycle Operators Ghana (NUTOG) has welcomed the move, describing it as long overdue.

Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Union, Seidu Mubarak, said operators support efforts to enforce proper regulation within the sector.

“As a union, we have taken this to be a thing of joy, because it is something we have called for a very long time. And it is now that authorities have opened or have given a chance to do the needful,” he said.

The Assembly says strict enforcement of road traffic regulations affecting tricycle operators will begin on April 16, 2026.