Concerned Delivery Riders Association protests against proposed licensing fee

The Concerned Delivery Riders Association (CDRA) has kicked against a new directive by the government requiring individual okada dispatch riders to obtain courier delivery licences costing over GHC1,000 per motorbike, describing the move as unfair and unnecessary.

The okada dispatch riders, who staged a protest at the premises of Asaase Radio in Cantonments, Accra, on Wednesday (21 August 2025), argued that the policy threatens their already precarious livelihoods.

“We are not against regulation, but this new fee is simply not practical,” said Ankamah Nana Yaw Barimah Ebenezer, leader of the okada dispatch riders’ group.

“Every rider already pays 5% of each delivery to fleet partners like FH and Express Street Fleet. That money covers insurance, compliance and registration. Why should we pay another GHC1,070 on top of that?” the group leader asked.

“Double regulation”

Nana Yaw Barimah Ebenezer explained that most riders operate under established fleet partners who are already registered with courier and ride-hailing platforms such as Uber and Yango.

These platforms, he said, accept only fleets with at least ten motorbikes before onboarding them, making individual licences redundant.

“This is double regulation,” Ebenezer argued. “Our fleet partners have done the necessary registrations, and we operate through them. Imposing another licence fee on us as individuals will collapse our work.”

The riders warned that if the directive is enforced, many of them will be forced out of business. “Some of us are students, some are family men, and this is our only source of income,” one protester said.

“If the government goes ahead with this policy, a lot of riders will lose their jobs and be left with no alternative,” Nana Yaw Barimah Ebenezer told Asaase Radio, amid loud support from members of the okada riders’ association who besieged the company’s premises.

The association is calling on the Mahama administration to scrap the individual licensing requirement and instead strengthen existing regulatory systems through the fleet partners.

“We are appealing to the government to listen to us. We are already contributing to the economy, and delivery services have become a lifeline for many people. Please don’t destroy our work with unnecessary costs,” Ebenezer said.

Background

In December 2023, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) brought to the attention of the general public, especially owners of ride-hailing vehicles (Uber, Yango, Bolt and so on), that, pursuant to Regulation 22 of the Income Tax Regulations 2016 (LI 2244), any commercial vehicle owner who earns income from the operation of a commercial vehicle is liable to pay income tax on a quarterly basis.

The GRA also pointed out that Sections 1, 33 and 35 of the Revenue Administration Act 2016 (Act 915), as amended, gives the Commissioner General authority to give written directives, require any taxpayer to provide information or connect their digital system to the Commissioner General’s monitoring platform for the purposes of establishing the correct taxes payable to the state.

The GRA therefore entreats all ride-hailing companies that operate in Ghana to update their digital platforms to require evidence of payment of vehicle income tax (VIT) for both existing and new vehicles. The GRA, to this end, entreated ride-hailing companies to follow the underlisted guidelines:

● Entities are to demand a soft copy of the VIT sticker.
● Entities are to validate the authenticity of stickers with the GRA.
● Entities are to submit the list of all vehicles on their platform quarterly to GRA.

The GRA also asked all ride-hailing companies to note that the requirements would take full effect on Monday 1 January 2024.

“In this regard, all owners of ride-hailing vehicles that operate in Ghana are to carry out a one-time registration of their vehicles at any GRA office to enable them [to] make payment for VIT using the shortcode *222#,” the GRA further directed.

Reporting by Wilberforce Asare and Caleb Ahinakwah for Asaase Newsroom, Accra

Editor’s note: This report was amended on 24 August to make clear the distinction between okada dispatch and okada passenger services.