SLRTC imports 12 buses into Sierra Leone
The Sierra Leone Road Transport Corporation has imported twelve fifty–six seater buses in the country to add to its fleet. The Managing Director Sierra Leone Road Transport Corporation Bockarie Kamara at the weekly press briefing organized by the Ministry of Information and Communication 8th Floor Youyi Building told journalists that the first set of buses bought by the corporation was 40 years back when the corporation partnered with the German government to import buses.
He further noted that since those buses came to a halt, the corporation has been depending on grants and gifts. Bockarie further stated that the money used to procure the buses is a loan from the Eco Bank but cannot tell the amount of loan as the vocational commission for privatization negotiated the loan on behalf of the corporation. However, Bockarie boasted that twelve of the buses are presently at the Queen Elizabeth II Quay. He revealed that each of the buses cost $45,000 to land them at the Quay but failed to state the unit cost of each bus.
Disclosing the nature of the bus, SLRTCs director said the new buses are manufactured by Tata in India, with Mercedes Benz engines which according to professional advice are the most suitable for the country due to the bad road network.
Responding about the viability of the corporation to pay back the loan and why the corporation is unable to raise funds rather than obtain a loan, Bockarie responded by saying that transportation is a profitable business globally as even though the corporation has not started using the buses, the corporation is able to finish paying half of the loan to Eco Bank regardless of the fact that the duration for the loan is two years.
He informed all that this Excellency the president Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma will commission the buses in the not too distance future.
On the issue of transportation in the city the director agreed that he is aware that there is a transportation problem in the city and that is why he advised his buses to make a trip to Lumley and Calaba town before traveling to the provinces. He continued that during mid-day the bus from Bo would have arrived and after an hour of maintenance will be out helping in city transportation.
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mohamed conteh
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congratulation to my fellow sierra leonean,i reside in the united state of america.But i am really proud to be a sierra leonean,no matter what the difficulties are right now we wiil be ok love you sierra leone.Much love to the current government of sierra leone(A.P.C)
1st December 2009