RUMPUS BETWEEN MMT AND GPRTU IN TAMALE RESOLVED (PAGE 23, AUGUST 9, 2010)

THE long-standing misunderstanding and rivalry between the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Metro Mass Transit Limited (MMT) in the Tamale metropolis has been resolved.
This followed the establishment of a new bus terminal by the MMT near the Aboabu Timber market which started operating in June this year.
Until recently, both the GPRTU and the MMT operated from the Savelugu lorry station located within the Central Business District of the Metropolis. The MMT’s relocation has eased congestion at the Savelugu lorry Park and enhanced the free flow of traffic at the station.
In May 2008, 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 Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (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 northern region.”
The new terminal, which is still being put into shape, can accommodate 150 buses.
Traders in the Metropolis, particularly the Aboabu area, are cashing in on the new terminal to improve on their sales as most of them have also relocated to the area to transact business.
The Northern Regional Manager of the Tamale Depot of the MMT, Mr Stephen Abukari, observed that there were such challenges as fencing of the terminal and getting the grounds prepared to befit its status as a new terminal.
According to him, the operation of the new terminal had helped to stop cases of theft that were being recorded at the former terminal within the Savelugu lorry station.
“The new terminal is spacious and there is enough ventilation and seats for passengers,” he noted.
Mr Abukari further explained that the new terminal had brought in a new lease of life into the company’s operations.
He intimated that the terminal had equally enhanced the company’s operations as it was now fully operating in all the districts of the region.
“Patronage has increased these few months and we are raking in more revenue as compared to the period when we were at the Savelugu lorry station,” he pointed out.
He indicated that the MMT in Tamale had a total staff strength of 254 and operated 70 buses out of which 25 had broken down.
The manager stated that the broken down buses had, to some extent, affected the MMT’s operations but added that the top management of the company was working round the clock to get the buses back onto the roads.
Touching on security at the new terminal, Mr Abukari intimated that a team of policemen had been detailed to be patrolling the terminal every day and “very soon this terminal would become the best in the metropolis.”
“The recent visit of the new Board Chairman, Mr Antwi Gyamfi, and the new Managing Director of the company, Mr Maxwell Anku, has reassured us that good things are coming in the near future,” the manager stated.