Continuous infighting at Metro Mass Transit (MMT) Limited has resulted in inefficiency that has led to over 300 buses being grounded, the Minister of Transport has said.
Transport Minister Ms Dzifa Attivor Tuesday told Parliament that the squabbles in the company from mid-2014 had taken a negative toll on the efficient running of MMT, affecting the fortunes of an otherwise viable state asset.
“The internal wrangling within the company from mid-2014 till January 2015 hampered the smooth procurement of spare parts and tyres, leading to about 330 buses being parked,” she disclosed on the floor of the House, when responding to questions on the efforts being made by the Ministry to get the MMT to be efficient and profitable.
Dilemma
The Minister told the lawmakers that the MMT’s dilemma was worsened with the Public Procurement Act pegging the threshold for purchase by managing directors at GH¢5,000, which is inadequate for the urgent purchase of required spare parts.
Ms Attivor said the company had reached an agreement with VDL Bus International of Holland to provide spare parts to rehabilitate the buses with a credit facility of 1 million euros, with a 60 day grace period for payment.
She revealed that an order had been placed for spare parts on May 8, and that the delivery is expected to be made by the middle of June for repairs on the buses to be carried out.
“Mr Speaker, for expeditious repair works, MMT has put in place a rehabilitation plan and the company has commenced discussion with private garages to outsource the rehabilitation works upon arrival of the requisite spare parts, as a temporary measure to bring the buses back on the road,” she said.
The Minister also hinted that MMT was procuring spare parts from the local market for some repair works by its maintenance staff, and that the Public Procurement Authority had given the approval for the company to raise the threshold of the managing director to GH¢50,000.
She said the Ministry had decided to restructure the company, as investigations into its operations had identified procedural lapses.
