The government has procured additional 50 buses to augment the fleet of the Metro Mass Transit Limited (MMTL) following the breakdown of some of its existing vehicles.
The company’s fleet has dwindled over the years due to the breakdowns and the fact that many of the buses have reached their useful lives span.
This was contained in a report of the Finance Committee presented to Parliament by its chairman, Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah, seeking a tax waiver in the sum of GH¢14.8 million on the 50 buses procured for the company.
The MMT was established to provide social transport services to both rural and urban dwellers at moderate fares with the company recognized as the only public transport service provider in the many remote parts of the country.
The company, besides its strategic role in the job creation and linking rural areas to urban centers also provides discounted bus fares for Ghanaians above the age of 65 years and free bus services for school children.
The MMTL, at its peak of operation, had a fleet size of about 1,300 buses operating an average of 727 buses daily on 390 routes and providing direct employment for over 4,000 people.
The 390 routes covered Intra-city services routes, rural-urban services routes and intercity services routes.
The company’s fleet has, however, been dwindling over the years as the buses reach their useful life with some as old as 17 years.
This has led to a breakdown of more than 70% of the buses leading to a decline in the company’s activities and leading to a suspension of its operations due to lack of adequate buses.
Parliament was, therefore, requested to grant waivers of Import Duties, Import VAT, GETFund Levy, NHIL Levy, ECOWAS Levy, Exim Levy, Special Import Levy, AU Levy, and other taxes in the sum of GH¢14.8 to clear the buses.
The report indicated that it was necessary to assist the MMTL to acquire more buses following an investigation into its operation by the National Security in June 2019, which indicated the company cannot meet the high demand for its services due to lack of vehicles.
The Ministry of Transport subsequently received approval from the Ministry of Finance to procure 100 buses to revamp the company’s operation.
The Finance Ministry granted another approval for additional 50 buses to be procured, which arrived at the Tema Port in November last year prompting the request for the waiver.
In a related development, the House also approved by resolution waiver of GH¢25.2 million to the Intra-city STC Company Limited on vehicles procured to augment its low fleet strength of 58 buses.
The company’s fleet utilization is high and this has an adverse effect on the company resulting in frequent breakdowns and cancellation of trips, which impacts the revenue generation capacity of the company.
