Luanda - Urban public transport companies in Luanda have called for better road infrastructure and road safety to better provide service to the population, and have asked for more support from the government and less red tape.
The concerns were presented Wednesday to the Minister of State for Economic Coordination, José de Lima Massano, at a meeting aimed at to listening to the province's urban public transport operators.
At the meeting attended by the ministers of Transport, Ricardo D'Abreu, Finance, Vera Daves de Sousa, and the governor of Luanda province, Manuel Homem, transport operators expressed worry regarding the acquisition of foreign currency for the purchase of replacement parts and an assessment on the effects of the recent fare adjustment.
The president of the Association of Urban Collective Passenger Transport in Angola (TRANSCOL), Carlos Carneiro, said at the end of the meeting that despite the recent price adjustment, the current fare is not what the operators wanted.
"If we look at what was predicted for the tariff of 0.60 cents on the dollar (one dollar is worth 852 kwanzas at the current exchange rate), which is already part of previous government decrees, today we have 0.17, almost 0.18 cents on the dollar. The difference is abysmal," he stressed.
The director of Rosalina Express, Edgar Oseias, on his turn pointed to the loss of investment capacity on the part of entrepreneurs in the sector.
"The previous tariff did not generate enough revenue to motivate any form of investment, to the extent that the government was able to intervene as a credit, using the installment payment system, to recapitalize the companies," he stressed.
Énio Costa, chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT) said in Luanda some infrastructures are being repaired, despite the financial difficulties in carrying out some works.
He added that from the point of view of security, work is being done with the National Police to reinforce security and better protect the means of transport, namely buses and railways.
"There is joint work being done, involving various ministerial departments. Coordination is taking place and measures are being taken to ensure better security for passenger transport operators and all those who use these public services," he said. MR/VC/TED/AMP
