The Ministry of Transport has present sanitary items worth GH₵100,000 to various transport unions to help curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The items include 200 Veronica Buckets, 200 plastic bowls, 800 pieces of hand sanitizers, 400 pieces of Detol, 400 pieces of liquid soap, 400 pieces of tissue and 300 pen drives containing recorded messages on good hygiene.
The recipient transport unions are the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC), Metro Mass Transit (MMT), Inter City State Transport Company (ISTC), VIP-Jeoun, Ghana Committed Drivers, UBER and BOLT, a multinational ride hailing company.
Out of the items, GPRTU were given 80 of the Veronica Buckets, 80 plastic bowls, 300 pieces of hand sanitizers, 500 pieces of Detol, 160 pieces of liquid soap, 160 pieces of tissue and 100 pen drives.
GRTCC on the other hand, were given 60 Veronica Buckets, 60 plastic bowls, 200 pieces of hand sanitizers, 100 pieces of Detol, 120 pieces of liquid soap, 120 pieces of tissue and 50 pen drives.
The GRTCC also took home 60 Veronica Buckets, 60 plastic bowls, 200 hand sanitizes, 100 pieces of Detol, 120 pieces of liquid soap, 120 pieces of tissue and 150 pen drive while the Metro Mass Transit were given 40 Veronica Buckets, 40 plastic bowls, 110 pieces of hand sanitizers, 55 pieces of Detol, 80 pieces of liquid soap, 80 pieces of tissue and 50 pen drives.
Inter City State Transport Company (ISTC) also received 10 Veronica Buckets, 10 plastic bowls, 50 pieces of hand sanitizers, 25 pieces of Detol, 20 pieces of liquid soap, 20 pieces of tissue and 20 pen drives.
VIP-Jeoun took away with 10 Veronica Buckets, 10 plastic bowls, 50 pieces of hand sanitizers, 25 pieces of Detol, 20 pieces of liquid soap, 20 pieces of tissue and 20 pen drives while that of the Ghana Committed Drivers received 10 pieces of hand sanitizer, 5 pieces of Detol, and 20 pen drives.
UBER and BOLT each received 40 pieces of hand sanitizers, 20 pieces of Detol and 20 pen drives.
The Minister of Transport, Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, who presented the items to the transport operators at the premises of the Ministry on Friday, March 20, 2020, urged them to strictly heed to the directives of the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on the coronavirus to prevent commuters from contracting the disease.
He also urged commuters to adhere to the President’s directives as well as those spelt out by the transport operators at their various bus terminals so as to prevent themselves from contracting the virus.
“I am pleading with everyone to strictly adhere to the directives. This coronavirus does not know a driver, passenger, or a car owner. We are all at risk. So, please let us all strive to protect ourselves and ensure that we put into practice all the directives that have spelt out by health experts”, he noted.
He urged the operators to ensure taking the contact details of every commuter that will patronize their services to enable the health experts trace the fellow whenever the need arises.
That notwithstanding, Hon. Asiamah, directed owners of the commercial vehicles to ensure that whenever their vehicles return from a trip, they thoroughly wash and disinfect them before allowing the vehicle to go for another trip.
The General Manager of VIP-Jeoun, Adakabre Frimpong-Manso, who received the sanitary items on behalf of the transport operators expressed appreciation and commended the Ministry of Transport for coming to their aid.
He urged corporate Ghana to emulate the gesture of the Ministry of Transport by also presenting some sanitary items to the transport operators since the measures they are embarking on to curb the spread of the coronavirus has brought added cost to their operations but are very mindful in passing on such cost to commuters.
