"Kufuor buses" in trouble

...As TOR cuts fuel supply The Tema Oil Refinery(TOR) has ceased the supply of fuel to Metro Mass Transit Limited (MMT) for its operations.

The transport company owes huge sums of money to TOR for the supply of fuel.


Accordingly, the two big tanks installed by GOIL at the Kumasi terminal to receive consignment of fuel are currently lying idle.


MMT, according to The Chronicle sources, are now buying fuel from "other sources," explained to mean petrol filling stations from the open market to service its buses at much inconvenience to the traveling public.


Of late, the MMT popularly known as “Kufuor buses” has incurred huge losses from pilfering of fuel, irregular procurement practices and plain looting.


The situation has been aggravated by the burning of three Yaxing buses, including a double-decker, on April 1, 2007 under strange circumstances.

The management of MMT is shying away from The Chronicle’s attempts to enquire about the burning of the buses and other related issues, including low salaries of workers.


“Some of us work 16 hours a day but lamentably our salaries are nothing to write home about," bemoaned a worker.


The highest paid driver at MMT-Kumasi receives ¢1,300,000 with the minimum at ¢900,000. Salary range for conductors is between ¢700,000 and ¢1,000,000.


An MMT source confirmed the burning of the buses initially, but declined further comments on realizing that he was talking to a media man and directed this reporter to the manager but the security man would not allow him entry for two days.