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05.03.2013 General News

Kejetia Is An Eyesore… As Filth Engulfs Lorry Terminal … Managers Accused Of Negligence

By Ghanaian Chronicle
Kejetia Is An Eyesore As Filth Engulfs Lorry Terminal   Managers Accused Of Negligence
05.03.2013 LISTEN

The Kejetia Bus Terminal in Kumasi has been engulfed with filth due to alleged negligence by the managers of the facility over a period.

Traders, commuters and patrons of the facility fear a possible outbreak of cholera, as a result of the present conditions, as the rains are about to set in.

Freko FD Enterprise Limited, a private liability company in Kumasi, has since June 2, 2002 been responsible for the management of the Kejetia Bus Terminal, otherwise known as the Kejetia Bus Terminal Privatization Project, on behalf of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), which is the owner.

As part of its mandate, the company was to optimise the use of the facility, through properly organised vehicle operations and facility management, use efficient management mechanisms to maximise revenue generation, protection of the facility, and maintaining it in a good state of repair at all times.

By the contract agreement, the manager shall be responsible for the acts, defaults, neglect, commissions and omissions of the personnel, and shall indemnify the owner against all claims, proceedings, cost charges and liabilities of any description in respect of the agreement.

As part of her responsibilities, the manager makes sure vehicles operating from the terminal comply with the bye-laws of the owner and all road traffic regulations, and ensure an efficient system of managing the place, including legitimate means of restricting entry and unauthorised parking, among others.

The Sanitation Department of the company has been assigned the responsibility of ensuring that the terminal is clean and tidy at all times. This Department operates the double shift system to be able to handle the waste generated by the 800,000 people who use the terminal daily. Unfortunately, the place has, for the past two months, been turned into a rubbish dump, with heaps of filth dotted all over the place.

Commuters and traders who ply their businesses at the terminal Kejetia are complaining about an epidemic from the stench and piled rubbish with the rains due to set in.

Food vendors have no option but to sell in the midst of these unhygienic conditions, without any restraint by city authorities.

Mr. Yaw Manu, Kumasi-based businessman and renowned newspaper vendor, has accused Freko FD of mismanaging the Kejetia terminal, to the extent that refuse is left all over the place, because officials of the company claim that all their trucks are broken down.

He said traders and hawkers had taken over the terminal, and were generating so much filth, making it congested.

According Mr. Yaw Manu, the lighting system at the terminal had not been functioning well for two months now, and for that matter the place is plunged into total darkness, a situation pick pockets and robbers have taken advantage of to rob travelers at dawn.

He urged the management of the terminal to ensure the safety of passengers at the facility.

Mr. Manu said it was time the management of the terminal sat up, because innocent people should not suffer because of their negligence, and called on the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to review the performance of Freko, and consider terminating the contract if the company cannot perform, and award it to a more competent manager.

He suggested that the KMA contract Zoomlion Ghana Limited to take up the sanitation management of the terminal

Meanwhile, the Security Coordinator of Freko, Mr. Seth Ofori, has denied that Freko was overseeing a pile of rubbish at the place, and that the Sanitation Department sees to the evacuation of rubbish on a daily basis.

When he was reminded of heaps of rubbish at the terminal, he said it would be taken care off as soon as possible.

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