The Metro Mass Transit Company Limited, the state run commercial transport business will not be privatized, despite calls on government to properly regulate the sector instead.
The Deputy Minister of Transport, Joyce Bawa Mogtari on the Citi Breakfast Show said privatization will defeat the purpose for which the company was established.
She said her outfit is judiciously working to restructure the company to make its services more efficient and effective.
[contextly_sidebar id=”bt1eYDZHLJ2YXfhNhMHxuvXYVal0MikT”]This comes of the back of an indefinite strike which was declared on Monday by the workers of the company.
They were demanding the dismissal of the company Board Chair, Osabarima Ansah Sasraku III and Deputy Managing Director, John Awuku Dzuazah for their alleged involvement in the circumstances leading to the disappearance of 12 buses belonging to the company.
The workers then staged a demonstration on the premises of the bus terminal at Accra Central to press home their demands.
They accused the management of mismanaging the affairs of the company and also bemoaned their poor working conditions.
The situation left passengers stranded across the country but the intervention of the sector Minister forced the workers to resume work late Monday.
Many are those who have called for the privatization of the company as well as the Intercity STC but the Deputy Minister said work is ongoing to restructure the company.
“Over the last two years since the Minister for Transport took over, what we have been seeking to do is to restructure the company and rebrand it. This was done by way of a new management which was introduced, a new board was put in place and of course, the structures were put in place,” she said.
She insisted that the Metro Mass brand is “actually a strong brand now. They’ve had some challenges because the older buses are not being maintained fully and because of that, they probably do not have as many buses as they will require.”
She disclosed that government has procured 200 additional buses for the Metro Mass Transport Limited and more buses will be procured for the STC to revive their activities.
“Intercity itself requires additional buses and we are working on procuring some buses for them.”
She insisted that the government has only two public transport companies therefore outsourcing it to a private company is not the way to go.
Joyce Mogtari admitted that government has been “partially satisfied with the services that are being rendered although they provide a very critical service in the transport sector of the nation.”
“When it comes to regulating and providing services for the vulnerable, free bus ride for school going kids, it will be very, very difficult for government to ask private transportation companies to provide those interventions.”
“But this is the tax payers money we are talking about so government is still obliged as a responsibility to its citizens to run some social transportation and this is what Metro Mass Transit was set up to do and is currently doing,” he added.
She gave the assurance that the grievances of the workers and the allegations they made will be addressed and investigated respectively.
Meanwhile, the workers say they will petition the President to sack the Board Chair of the Company and the Deputy Managing Director.
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana