There was total chaos at the Asafo, a suburb of Kumasi when operators of VIP bus and Inter-City STC clashed over a loading terminal Monday morning.
It took police men from the SWAT team from the Ashanti police Headquarters led by Commander of Operations, Supt. Caesar Abanga, hours to bring sanity to the densely populated BB arena as the two protagonists held unto their entrenched position.
Traffic came to stand-still on the tiny stretch of road as many shops remained closed at the time of filing this story.
Operators of the Inter-City STC wrote to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) on September 6, 2017, to acquire one of the dormant bus terminals close to the VIP lorry station at Asafo of which they were granted permit to operate on September 12, 2017.
The move by STC according to the Head of Operations, Ashanti, Lord Inusah Lansah, was to help the state-owned company to run a parallel station at Adum (which remains their main office) and Asafo to maximize profit.
Indeed, the plan to move to Asafo was in line with the agenda of the new administration to open as many satellites stations as possible across the country to make the rebranded Inter-City STC more accessible to passengers.
But the operators of the VIP said the move to relocate the STC station close to them was to scuttle their businesses and ‘steal their passengers.’
A leading member of the VIP, Kwame Adu Gyamfi, told the Daily Graphic, it took them years to build the transport business and would not allow anyone to scuttle it.
“When we came here, the entire arena was swampy and unattractive. It took hard work and dedication to bring the place to this current level. It will be unwise on our part to give portions to our main competitor,” he said.
The Public Relations Officer of the KMA, Godwin Okumah Nyame, confirmed the granting of permission to STC, and noted that it was a competitive world and VIP should brace themselves for it.
He said there were other minor stations close to VIP which loads to Accra, and so why should the VIP managers target only STC.
Mr. Okumah Nyame said the move by STC should rather be applauded by commuters because the in-coming competition would inure to their benefit.
–
By: Graphic/Ghana