From carrying goods in a pan to driving passengers in a bus - Bawumia lauded for transforming Kayayes

The Vice President and Presidential Candidate of the NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has been commended for inspiring the remarkable transformation of female porters (Kayayes) to qualified bus drivers within months.

At the launch of the Electric Buses for Public Transportation in Accra on Wednesday November 27, 2024, a remarkable story was told of how Dr. Bawumia inspired the training of young girls as bus drivers, under the Kayaya Empowerment Programme.

The Managing Direvtor for Greater Accra Public Transport Exvetives (GAPTE) Charles Annan, revealed how Dr. Bawumia reached out to them to train some of the Kayayes as bus drivers to transform the lives.

"The Vice President wanted to move the Kayayes from carrying goods on their heads to carrying passengers in buses," said Mr. Charles Annan, who revealed he was initially sceptical because he thought it was a difficult process.

The MD revealed that GAPTE shared in the vision of Dr. Bawumia, and five months on, 50 young ladies have been transformed from head porters to bus drivers.

Expressing GAPTE's excitement in contributing to the transformation, Mr Annan thanked Dr. Bawumia for giving them a life-changing responsibility.

"For the Vice President to have this vision and task us to deliver it, we will forever be grateful to him for this transformation," Annan said.

"Your Excellency, today I'm here to tell you that the ladies you gave us are today driving buses. You envisioned it and you have made it possible for these girls to venture into a new field."

The Administrator of the District Assembly Common Fund, Irene Naa Torshie, in a broadcast at the event, also thanked Dr. Bawumia for giving her the opportunity to also contribute, adding that seeing the transformation of the Kayayes give her great joy.

Dr. Bawumia himself was impressed by their transformation, saying it s

"A young lady who was a Kayayei a few months ago is now a bus driver. This shows that when we take the right decisions, we can transform this country," said the Vice President.

"This demonstrates the mindset of possibilities that I keep talking about."

For the ladies, they believe the transformation will be life-changing and they expressed sincere gratitude to Dr. Bawumia.

"As a woman, this is life changing for me and for my colleagues," one of them said.

"We won't have to rely on anyone, or a man for our livelihood. We are very grateful to Dr. Bawumia for this opportunity."