The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), a leading professional body in supply chain, logistics and transport management, has urged the government to widen stakeholder consultations and review aspect of the Tow Tax Contract with the Road Safety Management Ltd. before its implementation.

CILT believes government failed to do due diligence in its consultations hence the negativities being identified with the whole process.

The President of CILT-Ghana, Ebo Hammond expressed displeasure with the government for failing to engage CILT in its consultations that led to the signing of the contract.

“We believe in a pluralistic rather than a monopolistic participation among others. The current approach seems to put too much power in the hands of one private company whose primary objective may be money rather than the provision of a social service,” he said.

Ebo Hammond was speaking at the opening ceremony of Vehicle Maintenance Management Seminar in Accra on Wednesday, August 9, 2017, in Accra.

According to him, although CILT supports the towing of broken-down vehicles, it is much concerned with the adopted model by the National Road Safety Commission earmarked for implementation, adding that government could have opened the contract for competitive bidding for interested companies to bid, “…by so doing we will not be entrusting the whole contract in the hands of a single company who will be responsible for taking charge of all aspects of the contract.”

He maintained that insurance companies can also be allowed to be part of the whole process where they will be handling the insurance aspect of the contract.

“We should bring on board, other people. Insurance companies are there. When you have a comprehensive insurance on your vehicle and it is involved in an accident, your insurance company will come and tow it away. So what government could also think of is probably, what sort of addition of such a service could be added to insurance,” he said.

He, however, indicated that with good maintenance culture, there would not even be the need for Tow Tax since that will reduce the rate of breakdown of vehicles and avoid road crashes.

Ebo Hammond indicated that corporate vehicle maintenance is the most important ingredient for continuous productivity and longevity of vehicle fleet and that it takes the efforts of people he describes as “behind-the-scene officers,” to drive productivity when it comes to vehicle management.

“The engineers, the workshop managers the mechanics, the technicians, the transport managers, etc are the drivers of continuous sharpening. Further, constant change in the industry makes it vital for these officers to stay current with the latest technology.”

He also said, it was clear in the Road Traffic Act 2004 Act 683 that all vehicles used are maintained in good condition and are safe to use and fit for purpose and that CILT believes that effective maintenance will undoubtedly reduce breakdowns and contribute towards reduction of road traffic accidents “if all of us adopt the culture of maintenance.”

Participants of the two-day seminar included directors, finance managers and other senior public and private management members of organisations.

According to Ebo Hammond, CILT-Ghana has organised the seminar with the support from Seamless Management Solutions to forge a strategic partnership in ensuring good education, training and orientation of all who are involved in the transport and supply chain management.