Controversies surrounding the restriction of Pragia riders in Kumasi appear to be far from over as the Member of Parliament for Asawase, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, has waded into the issue.
Aljhaji Muntaka has emphasised that the emerging restriction should be a win-win situation and not a lopsided one, which appears to favour one side.
He has, therefore, appealed to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to be pragmatic about the issue at hand, since it goes beyond the realm of decongestion.
To Muntaka Mubarak, Pragia serves as a means of employment to a number of people from all walks of lives, including university graduates, who are eking out a living from it.
He, therefore, called on the KMA to meet the riders half way for an amicable solution.
The Asawase Legislator made these calls when he spoke to the media, having earlier addressed Pragia riders who were demonstrating yesterday, at Aboabo Junction.
As part of the protest, the Pragia riders intermittently blocked roads like the Aboabo-Airport stretch, which impeded vehicular traffic.
At the onset of the protest, a national security operative, who is known by the street name ‘Curling’, fired a warning shot in the presence of the police to scare the aggrieved riders, but they remained on the road. The Police were deployed to direct traffic.
They blocked their colleague Pragia riders who were ferrying passengers in the course of the demonstration.
The protest left a number of people stranded, since they were going to places that were only accessible by Pragia. Some of the places include Sabon Zongoand Adukrom among other enclaves.
Muntaka told the media that the sub-region is increasingly becoming volatile, owing to hoodlums who are taking advantage of insecurity in the area, so it is important for the KMA to reconsider their stance on the issue.
According to Muntaka, he has been to a number of nations in West Africa and beyond, and Pragia largely serves as means of tourism.
He, however, urged the Pragia riders to stay away from restricted areas marked by the KMA, as he and other stakeholders attempt to dialogue with the assembly.
Mohammed Muntaka, who was mobbed by the demonstrators at the Aboabo post office intersection, rebuked the Pragia riders for blocking roads and attacking police officers, something he described as unfortunate.
He asserted that the issue at stake is a bread and butter affair and not politics, adding that the Pragia provide employment for the teeming youth, which has reduced robbery in Kumasi and its environs.
Prior to the arrival of Muntaka, The Chronicle spoke to some stranded passengers who were feeling the impact of the protest.
Madam Alia Seidu, one of the stranded passengers, disclosed to this paper that she has been at the Aboabo junction since 07:00 am, and did not get vehicle to her workplace.
According to her, she was told by the demonstrating riders that the government is restricting their movements and as such, they cannot work.
Speaking to a pregnant woman called Hawah Issaka, she disclosed to this paper that she came to the junction at dawn to board a vehicle together with her goods to her destination, but she could not do so because of the demonstration.
