A Governance Expert, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has made a case for public-private partnerships in Ghana’s transport sector in order to address the challenges.
He expressed the view that private investors would not want to make losses, hence they would ensure that the sector runs effectively
“Why is it that private transport operators do not lose, but the state keeps losing millions? If the state can not run buses, then we must look seriously at private partnerships,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, January 24, while commenting on the woes of the Metro Mass Transit Limited.
Professor Baffour Agyemang-Duah further told the current management of the Metro Mass Transit Limited that it is not enough to speak about alleged corruption perpetrated by the previous management.
He says that if there is some form of criminality, the current management should put them before the appropriate quarters for actions to be taken.
“If there is some form of criminality, put to the appropriate quarters,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, January 24.
He added, “Public transportation is a critical factor in our economy.”
Prior to his comments, Deputy Managing Director, Metro Mass Transit LTD (MMTL), Haroun Apaw-Wiredu, had raised concerns about revenue leakages in the company, especially under the previous management.
He says he has never seen this level of revenue leakages in an institution.
Also speaking on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, January 24, he said that “We have done a massive shake-up at our internal audit unit. I have never seen this level of leakage in an institution.”
Haroun Apaw-Wiredu further said that the previous management of the Metro Mass Transit Limited, who allegedly bought buses that were not fit for purposes are going to be prosecuted.
He says a draft copy of the audits of the procurements has been received and forwarded to the appropriate office for presentation to begin.
“We have received a draft report from our auditors on the various procurements. It is being forwarded to the appropriate office for prosecutorial processes to commence,” he said.
Haroun Apaw-Wiredu further said that buses bought under the previous Akufo-Addo administration were a nightmare for Metro Mass Transit.
He said that the buses were purchased without recourse to Ghana’s weather conditions.
“Most of the buses procured under the Akufo-Addo regime were without recourse to our weather conditions. They were a complete waste of money,” he said.
He was commenting on the transport crisis that hit Accra recently.
There was clearly a grand collusion by certain people because as many as 4 buses were sold to a single individual as scraps. We have forwarded the documents to EOCO for action.
