STC pays govt $1m for buses bought for company

The State Transport Company (STC) has presented $1,000,000 to the government as the second tranche of payment for the 50 buses that were bought for the company in October 2016.

This brings to $1,700,000 so far paid by the company for the buses which were purchased at the cost of $16 million.

The Managing Director of the STC, Nana Akomea, presented the cheque for $1,000,000 to the Minister of Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, at a short ceremony in Accra on Friday, March 9, 2018.

In an interview after the presentation, Nana Akomea said STC was working round the clock to make full payment before the deadline.

He said the STC would make payments every six months to the government, adding: “At this pace we would clear our debt before time.”

Strategy

The payment, Nana Akomea said, was made possible as a result of the strategy by the STC to overhaul its operations.

As part of the strategy, STC was opening loading stations at transportation centres to attract more passengers.

For instance, he said, the company had opened a loading station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, and planned to open others at Madina and in Cape Coast.

He said it would also introduce an electronic ticketing system on its buses by the end of this year.

Nana Akomea indicated that STC was positioned to improve revenue and meet all its obligations to the government and other creditors.

The STC, which was formerly a high-yielding state-owned public transport company, went down for years as a result of maladministration and lack of funds.