Intercity STC Coaches Limited Board of Directors inaugurated
The Minister of Transport, Mr Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, inaugurated a seven-member board for Intercity STC Coaches Limited (ISTC) yesterday and urged the members not to interfere with the day-to-day running of the company.
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“We caution against the temptation of the board to take over the role of management in its operational activities. I will entreat the board and management to work as a team to achieve the objective of the company,” Mr Asiamah said at the ceremony in Accra.
Board members
The board, chaired by Mr Samuel Oppong, has Nana Akomea, the company’s Managing Director; Mr Daniel Soglo, Mr Hayford Kofi Nimoh, Alhaji Musah Mumuni, Mr Jaezi Orleans-Lindsay and Ms Eva Mends as members.
With the ISTC struggling to cope with competition from the private sector as a result of its financial position, the minister challenged the board to ensure that the company was revived to the level of winning back its share of the market and taking its place as the market leader and safest transport service provider.
To increase the company’s depleted fleet, he said the ministry was at the moment supporting the 108-year-old company to acquire about 100 new buses.
He, however, acknowledged the company’s infrastructure deficit, including bus terminals, maintenance workshop and human capital and drew the board’s attention to the encroachment of the company’s lands, which he stated could affect its infrastructure drive.
“I was alarmed when I recently visited the Kumasi branch of the company to hear that the 21.7 acre land belonging to the company has been reduced to about nine acres.
“These developments will hamper operations and future developments. I, therefore, urge you to work with management to ensure that all unauthorised structures are demolished and the land properly secured. We need to work towards a vision where modern terminals and commercial facilities are developed in order to provide the quality of service passengers require,” he stated.
Fleet and routes
Once a vibrant company, and the country’s biggest transport that provided safe, comfortable and reliable inter-city transport services in Ghana and to some parts of West Africa, STC has recently slumped and is struggling to compete with private companies that have eaten deep into its market share.
Its operation routes which stood at 53 in the past have reduced to 25 while its fleet of buses has also reduced from 115 to 62 buses.
On the contrary, its staff population is about 500 workers, giving it high overhead cost.
With a staff to bus ratio standing at one to eight against the industry standard of one to four, the company has been struggling to break even.
Speaking on behalf of the board, the Chairman, Mr Oppong, said the board would prioritise the acquisition of extra buses and a maintenance workshop as part of measures to turn around the fortunes of the company.
That, he stated, would make the company more effective, adding that the board would do everything possible to make Intercity STC viable and return to its days of glory.
He assured the minister that the board members would be responsive to the needs of management but would steer off interference.