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President Kufuor commissions buses for
MMT
Kumasi, June 29, Ghanadot/GNA - President John Agyekum
Kufuor commissioned 20 buses provided by VDL of Netherlands
and assembled at Neoplan Ghana Limited in Kumasi on Friday
to augment the fleet of buses for MMT.
The president used the occasion
to advice stakeholders of Metro Mass Transport (MMT) to put
adequate measures in place to ensure sustainable management
and efficient operation of the company and to ensure the
strengthening of the financial, human and logistic resources
of the company to enable it to make reasonable returns on
the investment.
He advised the staff to eschew negative tendencies and
conduct themselves well, so as to enhance profitability, a
necessary requirement for their job security.
The buses were the first consignment of 150 to be provided
under the Dutch Government concessionary financing under
which, 250 buses are being provided to the company out of
which 100 buses had already been supplied.
President Kufuor said the government, in realizing the
critical role the efficient mass transport system plays in
the national development agenda, has already provided the
MMT, which was piloted in Accra in 2002, a total of 625
buses and that, plans were far advanced to extend services
to all district capitals by the end of 2007.
An additional 1,000 buses are also to be provided to
facilitate smooth transportation not only in the cities but
nationwide.
President Kufuor said enormous benefits have accrued to the
nation and in particular patrons of the services of these
buses since the inception of the project in 2002, and that
over 120 million passengers had used the MMT services.
Besides, over 2,500 jobs had been created. It is expected
that job creation through MMT would be increased to 3,000 by
the end of the year.
He announced that a collaborative pilot scheme for
urban-public transportation in Greater-Accra and Kumasi
aside, MMT services was underway to ease traffic congestion
and problems regarding mass public transport in the cities.
He therefore, urged the collaborative partners, which are
the Ministries of Transportation, Local Government, Rural
Development and Environment as well as the World Bank to
work hard for the early realization of this important
project.
Mr. Felix Owusu-Agyapong, acting Minister of Transportation,
said the company in a bid to enhance service delivery to the
public was continuously putting in place terminal and
passenger waiting facilities at vantage places to serve
passengers.
He said the MMT carries an estimated 5.5 million passengers
a month on its routes all over the country and by December
2006 the company had carried 55 million passengers
nationwide and covered a total distance of 24.3 million
kilometres.
Through the spreading of its activities to other districts,
the number of passengers carried increased to 128 million
passengers by the end of February 2007.
He, however, said the MMT was faced with challenges such as
harassment of company's staff and destruction of properties,
especially buses, slow pace of work on other passenger
waiting facilities as well as inadequate and outdated
terminal facilities.
Daasebre Osei Bonsu II, Mamponghene who represented Otumfuo
Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, conveyed Otumfuo's appeal to Mrs
Alida Remmelzwal, Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana to
establish a bus manufacturing company in Kumasi for which
land had already been provided.
Mr Emmanuel Asamoah Owusu-Ansah, Ashanti Regional Minister,
cautioned drivers and conductors to take good care of the
buses and properly manage the proceeds of their operations
so that investors could derive maximum benefits.
Mrs. Remmelzwal, on her part said the buses had been
specially designed to suit tropical weather conditions and
African roads and guarantee their durability.
GNA
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