Managing Director of Metro Mass Transit Company (MMT) John Awuku Dzuazah, has cautioned that any attempt to get the company to honour its tax obligations to the state could see it go down
He appealed to government to write-off its debts, which had accumulated as a result of postponing import duties on buses brought into the country.
“We will be making a case to the sector minister so she can forward it to the cabinet and parliament,” he said.
The MMT, which was established in 2003 by the government in collaboration with the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), National Investment bank (NIB), Prudential Bank, SIC, SSNIT and GOIL currently has a vehicle fleet of 1,128, which is expected to double by 2018.
The company is expected to take delivery of 230 new buses by the end of this year to support its operations.
Mr. Dzuazah said government’s intervention and support saved MMT from collapse about five years ago as the company’s profitability waned. He said MMT’s profitability hinges on its ability to effectively compete with private transport companies by charging commercial and competitive rates for its services.
“Without the intervention of government, this company would have collapsed about four years ago. If the support from government had stopped, this company would have collapsed.
“MMT is not allowed to charge commercial rates. The private operators charge higher than we do. We charge about 15% to 20% lower than the private transport companies. “This gap between charging commercial rates and subsidised rates, somebody must bear that responsibility – and that’s government. We also provide free bus rides for schoolchildren, and that’s our social intervention programme.
“The company will be profitable if we are allowed to charge commercial rates. But because it is a social programme, we are not allowed to charge commercial rates. We have to sometimes go to areas where the roads are not good. We will continue to charge lower fares, but we want to run it as a commercial business,” he said.
In spite of its indebtedness to the state, the MMT has set a revenue target of GH¢ 154million from its operations this year as it launches its five-year strategic plan and ICT-based fuel and vehicle tracking system in Accra.