Ghana’s ‘okada’ law puts more motorcycles on the road — and more fumes in the air

Dorm Edem Prince Charles has a scratchy throat most evenings after work. Known amongst his fellow commercial bike riders as “Atentenben”, the Twi name for the flute that he loves to play, he coughs regularly while on the road.  On long shifts in heavy traffic, Atentenben gets dizzy, a feeling he attributes partly to riding too long, partly to the fumes he moves through all day. He has learned to stay hydrated. A doctor told him the face shield with the visor down would stop the reddish irritation in his eyes. The rest of the problems he accepts as part of the job.  "As for a dry, scratchy throat," he says. "That one is normal."

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