{"id":362192,"date":"2017-10-16T10:02:39","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T10:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=362192"},"modified":"2017-10-16T10:02:39","modified_gmt":"2017-10-16T10:02:39","slug":"vip-blocks-stc-from-loading-buses-at-asafo-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/10\/vip-blocks-stc-from-loading-buses-at-asafo-market\/","title":{"rendered":"VIP blocks STC from loading buses at Asafo market\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0opening of State Transport Corporation’s (STC) new branch at Asafo Market in\u00a0Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, has been suspended after some officials\u00a0of the private\u00a0VIP bus transport service, denied officials of STC access<\/a><\/strong><\/span> to the area.<\/p>\n

Some officials of STC had visited the Asafo Market terminal to launch the Corporation\u2019s new terminal, but the unexpected happened when some officials of VIP denied the officials access to the venue.<\/p>\n

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Reports indicate that, managers of the VIP buses had also blocked the main entrance to Asafo Market, bringing commercial activities to a halt.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show<\/strong>, the Deputy Managing Director for STC, Sintim Aboagye, said: “We are here at the Asafo market terminal in our bid to re-brand, recapture and re-position our \u00a0brand. One of our strategic positions is to bring transport to the doorstep of the private users and we thought it wise to secure a spot at Asafo VIP near VIP station so in our attempt to launch the station this morning, we came here and realized VIP had virtually blocked us with about three of their buses, denying us access to the place that we legally acquired to carry out operations.”<\/p>\n

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He wondered why VIP\u00a0carried out such a move when they had met all legal requirements to undertake their activities there.<\/p>\n

“The place does not belong to STC. The place belongs to the Kokofu branch of GPRTU. They had a 25-year\u00a0 permit and they have exhausted only one year, so they have about 24 years outstanding. We have entered into the tenancy agreement with them and we have acquired the necessary legal documentation from KMA to protect us and everything that has to be done to allow us to start our operations has been done.”Mr. Aboagye believes that the VIP operators are only resisting because they are scared of competition.<\/p>\n

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“They see us a competition that will give them a run for their money so they want to stop us.”<\/p>\n

STC, the once vibrant state transport\u00a0company which nearly collapsed, is up on its feet again in a massive re-branding offering better services.<\/p>\n

STC failed to consult other GPRTU branches\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

But the Director of Finance for VIP, Prof. Lukmond Owusu Ansah, explained that his outfit staged the protest to oppose some GPRTU officials\u2019 decision to\u00a0give out part of\u00a0its land to STC without the consent of other branches of GPRTU.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis issue came up and there was a little bit of violence here and we told them and the matter was taken to Manhyia \u2026They were told that the whole place was acquired by GPRTU and it was demarcated for the various branches\u2026 We have about 21 branches there and it is the property of GPRTU \u2026 One or two executives cannot sell the property of GPRTU to STC.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the whole 21 union members who are just contesting that it is constitutionally wrong…We are only saying that STC cannot occupy GPRTU\u2019S land. It is not a property of Kokofu Union. It is a property of GPRTU as a whole” he insisted.<\/p>\n

He also denied suggestions that they VIP transport operators, are only resisting STC because they are scared of competition.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

By: Marian Ansah\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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