Mobility of African commuters must be sustainable- Anane

Accra, Sept.15, GNA-Dr. Richard Anane, Minister for Transportation on Monday said the African continent requires reliable and efficient vehicles that would be suitable to its conditions to ensure the mobility of commuters on a sustainable basis.

"We need to create a congenial platform for us to reflect on the operations of urban and inter-urban transport operators in Africa and be able to define the characteristics of an African type of vehicles suitable to the transportation needs of our people on the continent" This was contained in an address read on his behalf at the opening of a Regional workshop organized by the African Association of Public Transport (UATP) on the theme "Technical maintenance of public transport vehicles".

Dr. Anane called for the sustainability of vehicles on roads in order to justify the huge investments made in the provision of road infrastructure on the continent.

"Road transportation plays a very vital role in any economy and Ghana is no exception. Road transportation constitutes well over eighty percent of all the overall transportation system in Ghana. It is for this reason that investment in road infrastructure is very important as this enhances the performance of other sectors in the economy," he said. Dr. Anane noted that the road transportation sector was essential in the quest to ensure poverty reduction and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

"The government of Ghana recognizes this fact and has gone a step further to demonstrate that transportation plays an important role in economic development by establishing the Metro Mass Transit Limited five years ago. The objective was that of developing a public mass transport system to enhance the movement of commuters in order to promote social and economic development with the primary focus on intra-city operations" He said. Dr. Anane gave the assurance that government would support recommendations that would be adopted at the end of the workshop. Mr. Henk Visschers, Managing Director of Metro Mass Transit Limited Ghana called for collaboration and cooperation between the bus manufacturer and the operator on issues such as maintenance and sustainable spare parts supply during the pre-bus acquisition period and beyond.

"This would help in building and maintaining a stronger working relationship which would ensure the sustainability of our businesses on a mutual basis. There is no way public transport operators and bus manufacturers can operate in isolation since they both need each other to ensure a healthy line of communication for their mutual good" He said. Mr. Visschers said since majority of people in Sub-Saharan Africa are expected to be living in urban areas by 2025, players in the public transport industry must take proactive measures to meet the anticipated major urban mobility changes.