Sofoline passengers to be stranded if...

Passengers who use Sofoline cars to and from their various vicinities will be left stranded in the coming days if the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) follows through with its decision to send the drivers parking from the terminal.

Drivers at the Sofoline Bus Terminal have been asked to evacuate the area for a redevelopment exercise to be undertaken by the KMA even without an alternative space to operate from.

Vice Chairman of the Sofoline Branch of GPRTU, Mr. Julius Caesar Amoah who confirmed this to Kapital News said executives of the Transport department of KMA have disclosed to them, the assembly’s intention to renovate the bus terminal to a modern one with a grant facility from the World Bank.

He said though they are not against development, the assembly is been economical with information on the deal including where they would be relocated to.

“The rumor going round is that the evacuation exercise will take place on Monday, but they [KMA ] had earlier promised to bring us a draft last Wednesday to give to our lawyers so we can sign it on Thursday, for them to find a suitable place to take us to for the time being. Because they say the contract has been awarded to the contractor already and they are only waiting for us to evacuate for the work to commence. That’s what they told us at the meeting on Tuesday [23rd February 2016]”.

He said however where the KMA has sighted to relocate them to belongs “to somebody and because of the rumour that the KMA is taking us there for the time being, he [the land owner] has started spreading sand on the land and so we called the KMA to inform them that because of their actions the land owner is putting impediments on the land, making it unsuitable for us to use.”

The KMA, according to Mr. Amoah is taking up the project with a World Bank Grant, but the drivers have their doubts. Mr. Amoah stressed the KMA should rescind its decision if it is contracting individual loans for the project.

“We want to emphasize that if it is not a World Bank Grant but an individual loan, then they should forget it because we can do it, we can also go for a loan and develop the area to the standard that they need.”

Meanwhile, he doubts that the KMA officials will be able to take up the evacuation exercise tomorrow, “because we agreed that we have to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and as I speak to you now we haven’t got any letter from the KMA telling us what to do or what is in the agreement or whatever.., we have to study it and then probably we can put our concerns in there before we sign it and we haven’t signed anything so I don’t think they can come here.”

Meanwhile, the KMA has declined commenting on the matter at the moment, Public Relations Officer for the assembly, Godwin Okumah Nyame tells Kapital News’ Precious Adusi Poku, he cannot comment on the matter because he has no knowledge of the intended evacuation exercise which the drivers fear, could come off tomorrow.