The National Road Safety Commission’s (NRSC) decision to contract a single company for the nationwide towing programme was borne out of considerations for capacity and convenience.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, the NRSC’s Communications Manager, Kwame Atuahene, however, said smaller companies still have a part to play in the programme, which will be spearheaded by Road Safety Management Services.
[contextly_sidebar id=”d5oSKOsFQrAqPYWBTSaaagU9fNdbgoQF”]The smaller companies, which some fear will be run out business, did not have enough capacity to be a major player in the contract, according to the commission.
Mr. Atuahene noted on that of the companies assessed, if you took out Road Safety Management Limited, the other towing companies might not have more than 50 trucks between them.
On the other hand, the Road Safety Management Limited is reported to have already acquired some 118 trucks ahead of the implementation of the programme.
“An assessment was made of all the existing companies that were present and we realized that there were some companies that were in towing services but in terms of capacity, it was just one that had better capacity than the others.”
Thus the contract with Road Safety Management Limited is “out of the convenience of dealing with one company to act more like a regulator to deal with the several other entities… even if the contract will be signed with one company, the job will not be done by just one company,” he assured.
“It would have created a lot of inconveniences trying to sign contracts with these pockets of companies… one company signed but within the contract, several companies will provide the service.”
The towing programme is to ensure that all vehicles that breakdown on highways are cleared off the roads.
For this reason, drivers are required to pay a road safety fee ranging between GHc 10 and GHc 200, in addition to road worthy certification fees.
Commercial vehicles and taxis will pay GHc40, mini buses will pay GHc80, while heavy duty trucks will pay between GHc80 and GHc200 annually, depending on their tonnage. Non-commercial vehicles are expected to pay GHc20.
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana