Ghana’s Minister for Transport, Joseph Nikpe Bukari, has rejected claims that his first year in office has been marked by non-performance, insisting that the sector has seen measurable improvements despite public criticism over recent disruptions in Accra and other parts of the country.
Speaking to journalists on Monday, January 19, Mr. Bukari pointed to what he described as a turnaround in the financial performance of several state-owned transport companies. Once plagued by poor management, he said, these firms are now generating higher revenues even while operating fewer buses. He credited the gains to stronger oversight and enhanced management practices.
“If a system was left for eight years and never had any improvements, and I said that the books of the state transport companies couldn’t be presented to anybody to look at. Today, they are making more revenue with fewer buses as compared to the several buses that were working,” Mr. Bukari said. “They were able to turn things around and are now collecting revenues, and their books are good enough that the private sector is ready to work with them. You think we slept and got that?”
He cited the case of Aayalolo, the bus service that had been dormant for years. “Aayalolo sat on rocks for eight years and was not operational. 245 buses, only 80 buses are operational. We’re in to work hard to improve upon whatever we inherited. The media knows what we do, you cover our events, you should be the judge for what you have seen in this ministry for the past year,” he added.
The minister also highlighted the return of several previously grounded buses to service, made possible through the introduction of 24-hour maintenance operations at transport workshops.
At the same briefing, Mr. Bukari announced that an investigation had been opened into reports that more than 300 Metro Mass Transit buses were auctioned under the previous administration. “As for the auctions, this was what we had but the boards are going through to see whether or not they were of correct merit for that amount,” he said.
“It is not something that I can just say that it was whether over or it was not unduly priced but it was auctions that they did and if we need to question or to go into it, I’ve instructed all the management and boards to have a second look at it and then we’ll see what happens next,” he added.
The Deputy Managing Director of Metro Mass Transit, Haroun Apaw Wiredu, disclosed that the auctions took place in the run-up to the 2024 general elections, with some buses reportedly sold for as little as GHS2,500.
Mr. Bukari stressed that his immediate priority is to ease the burden on .
“But the reality today is how do we improve on the situation we have at hand and we have come out with these measures with the unions and I believe that this will bring some relief to our commuters,” he said.
