Mahama saved STC from total collapse – MD

Samuel Nuamah Donkor, Managing Director (MD) of State Transport Corporation (STC), has disclosed that the new life the company is enjoying presently, was but for the timely intervention of President John Dramani Mahama.

The intervention of the President was his stepping in to assure the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to keep its majority share of 80 percent in the assets of STC, assuring SSNIT that STC was capable of turning its assets around to generate revenue to revive the company.

The state’s share in the company is 20 percent, and following the encouraging words of the President to convince and let SSNIT believe in the revival of STC, the MD said his administration, with the huge support and rapport of the dedicated staff, can boast of 20 buses, with 11 having hi-tech facilities.

Mr. Nuamah Donkor was speaking on Radio Gold as a guest on the station’s morning show, ’60 Minutes’, yesterday morning.

In a bid to reclaim its former first position as the best public transport company in the country, eleven of the fleet of vehicles of the STC have Wi-Fi connections and six security cameras to facilitate passengers’ internet communications with their partners, and ensure passengers’ security on board.

The new innovation, in addition to the security and safety the STC pledges to provide its customers, is to help customers onboard their vehicles to remain up-to-date with their business partners. Further, the Wi-Fi services on the STC buses will help students keep track of their studies while travelling on their vehicles to school. The new STC buses also have charging systems for laptops and mobile phones.

The management of STC has placed the security of their passengers high, as any coach that travels in the night has police escort, and with the six security cameras–two connected to video events outside the rear of the vehicle, two to pick happenings inside the bus, and the other two to capture incidents ahead of the bus–passengers can certainly be assured that their safety on STC coaches is assured.

“Another innovation we are soon rolling out is online ticketing, and we at the STC, with the huge backing of the President, are hopeful that the STC, which was once upon a time pronounced dead, shall be a force to reckon with.”

STC, he pointed out, was indebted to SSNIT, for a loan amount of about $3 million, but with the President assuring them of 50 new buses to augment their fleet in order to rake in more revenue to offset their loan, Nuamah Donkor said his staff was motivated to serve the company to make it a force to reckon with.

The company, he went on, had a lot of unused assets it could use to generate revenue. Samuel Nuamah Donkor was bold to state that STC was ready to face any challenging competition from its transport competitors, “because competition will help us increase our efficiency. We’re not afraid at all.”

Their coaches would soon have stewards onboard, and as they continue to shuttle between Ghana and the neighbouring countries, he was certain that the feedback they continued to receive would enable them advance on their services when they begin full inter-city operations.

“Schedule operations that cost the company, and so was also a contributing factor that nearly ground the company, has been abolished for now. We want to increase efficiency, so we are on few international and long distance inter-city routes. Our innovations on board these long shuttles, very soon, will be breakfast service.”

In order not to repeat the old mistakes that nearly collapsed STC, the MD mentioned fleet management system and driver’s and staff performance contracts as some of the mitigating steps the company had taken to increase efficiency.

“The days, when STC, was run as a civil service is over. We have braced ourselves to the challenge. We want to assure our customers to keep faith in us for their safety and travelling comfort.”