Coronavirus compliant buses coming - Transport Minister-designate assures

It has emerged that Ghana’s public transport system has been identified as partially compliant in enforcing strict adherence to COVID-19 safety protocols particularly using nose masks and observing safety protocols.

Also, even though the transport operators are enforcing the protocols it has become very clear that some passengers are feeling reluctant to comply with the protocols.

As Ghana entangles in the ripple effects of the COVID-19 health crisis, the country is seeking to introduce new innovative ways to meet the new normal and further secure and protect the public from the pandemic.

And since public transport remains a potential hotspot for the spread of COVID-19 due to the attitude of some of the passengers after the buses take off, it has become critical for the Government of Ghana to procure COVID-19 Compliant Buses.

It is against this background that the Minister-designate for the Ministry of Transport and Aviation, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah at his vetting before the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Tuesday 23rd February 2021 announced a major innovation from the transport sector.

According to the Minister-Designate, the Government of Ghana is currently in talks with the government of Korea to procure COVID-19 Compliant Buses.

“Since public transport has been identified as a high-risk environment for the transmission of the virus, we are innovating these buses that come with Automatic in-built and installed internal disinfectant and sanitizer designed for inter-city and intra-city transits. It automatically sanitizes the hands, takes records of temperature, and then sanitizes the whole body. It also disinfects the interior of the buses as and when the passengers get on board and when necessary,” the Minister-Designate for Transport stated.

Major Economic Benefit

According to him, the COVID-19 Compliant Buses will help bring economic relief since the government will be relying on prevention to avoid further financial stress from the health sector as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

As a matter of fact, the COVID-19 pandemic brought untold financial stress where the government was compelled to roll out economic relief to the public as a way of mitigating the economic challenges.

Funding

Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, further disclosed that the Source of funding for the COVID-19 Compliant Buses will come from the Korea Exim from the government of Korea or likely Afri Exim.