Mr Joseph Bukari Nikpe, Minister of Transport, says the implementation of the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act, 2025 (Act 1153) and Road Traffic Regulations, 2026 (L.I. 2519) will bring greater discipline, accountability and safety to Ghana’s road transport system.
He said the new legal framework, which among other things provides for the commercial use of motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles, was intended to modernise the country’s transport regulations and make the sector more responsive to changing mobility needs.
Mr Nikpe said the Government had also reduced the permissible alcohol concentration for drivers and lowered the minimum driving age from 25 to 21 years as part of measures to improve road safety while opening opportunities for more people to participate in the transport sector.
The Minister made the remarks in an interview with the media on the sidelines of a national dissemination and sensitisation exercise on the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act, 2025 (Act 1153) and Road Traffic Regulations, 2026 (L.I. 2519), in Accra.
He said the sensitisation programme was aimed at ensuring that drivers, commercial transport operators, pedestrians and other road users understood the new requirements and their responsibilities under the law.
“We want every driver, every road user, every person who is in the transport industry to understand clearly what this law means and also how it is going to be operationalised,” he said.
Mr Nikpe said the Ministry had worked with relevant institutions, including the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Roads and Highways, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) and the Ghana Police Service, to ensure effective implementation.
He said a nationwide sensitisation campaign would therefore be undertaken to educate the public on the new regulations.
On the commercial operation of motorcycles, commonly known as Okada, the Minister said the Government had engaged rider associations and would involve them in the nationwide education campaign.
He said some representatives of the riders had been taken to Rwanda to observe how commercial motorcycle operators were regulated and disciplined on the roads.
Mr Nikpe said commercial motorcycles could play an important role in addressing the “last mile” transportation needs of communities where conventional public transport services were limited.
He noted that motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles were particularly important in some parts of the country where conventional vehicle services were not readily available.
“Every item needs to move from the farm or the manufacturing site to the marketplaces. For that reason, that is why we have added these activities to whatever we are doing,” he said.
The Minister, however, stressed that the formalisation of commercial motorcycle operations would have to be accompanied by discipline and strict compliance with road traffic regulations.
He said operators would be expected to understand road signs, traffic rules, designated stopping points and other safety requirements.
Mr Nikpe said the new regulations would also strengthen accountability through changes to the vehicle registration and number plate system.
He explained that number plates would now be linked to vehicle owners rather than simply being assigned to vehicles, making it easier for law enforcement agencies to identify owners when vehicles were involved in traffic offences or other crimes.
The Minister said technology would also increasingly be used to enforce traffic regulations.
He said the Police would be able to use surveillance technology deployed along roads, as well as specialised vehicles and motorcycles, to detect traffic violations and identify offenders.
Mr Nikpe urged motorists and pedestrians to exercise greater caution and respect other road users, particularly at pedestrian crossing points.
He said road users should make proper use of designated crossing points rather than attempting to cross highways at unsafe locations.
“If you are on a highway and you want to run, you think you are smart, you cannot be faster than a machine,” he said.
The Minister said the Government’s objective was to establish a road transport system that was safe, orderly and capable of supporting economic activity.
He appealed to the public to cooperate with the enforcement agencies and take the new regulations seriously.
The national dissemination exercise brought together key stakeholders from the transport and road safety sectors to explain the provisions of Act 1153 and L.I. 2519 and their implications for road users.
