MMT OFFICES IN TAMALE BE RELOCATED (PAGE 29)

THE proposed relocation of the Metro Mass Transit Limited (MMT) from the Savelugu Lorry Station in the central business district of the Tamale metropolis to a new site behind the Aboabu Timber Market will be concluded next month.
Currently, the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TAMA) and the MMT management are working feverishly on the documentation that will facilitate the movement of the MMT to the new site to kick-start construction of a new modern bus terminal there.
When completed, the long-standing misunderstanding and rivalry between the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the MMT in the metropolis will be a thing of the past.
At the moment, the GPRTU and the MMT, both operate from the Savelugu station, and it is envisaged that the relocation would ease congestion at the park and enhance free flow of traffic at the station.
In May last year, members of the GPRTU threatened to go on strike over what they described as “unfair and unhealthy competition” from the MMT.
The GPRTU also gave a one-week ultimatum to the TAMA to resolve the matter and bring sanity into the transport sector.
Among the arguments advanced by members of the GPRTU was the need for the MMT to reduce the “relatively high number of its buses plying the routes in the area”.
The MMT depot in Tamale has expanded its operations within its catchment area to meet the increasing demands of commuters in the metropolis.
Last year, the MMT took delivery of six new 62-seater “VDL Jonckheere” buses to boost its services in the metropolis and its environs. That brings the total number of buses to 56.
The company started operations in the metropolis in 2003 with an initial fleet of 10 DAF buses.
According to the officer in charge of the MMT depot in Tamale, Mr Malik Ibrahim Gombilla, the company is expecting 25 new buses next month to enable it to open new routes and thus augment services in the area.
He observed that apart from the misunderstanding between his outfit and the GPRTU, the new site would enhance its operations.
The Regional Chairman of the GPRTU, Mr Amadu Lamusah, stressed that “the GPRTU and the MMT sign a memorandum of understanding to help resolve all outstanding issues and define their operations in the region, but the assembly must speed up the processes to resolve this matter once and for all”.
The Metropolitan Co-ordinating Director (MCD), Mr Mohammed Baba, entreated the MMT management to operate in such a way that their operations did not “kill” businesses of other transport organisations.