Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited has presented 200 Nissan Urvan buses to the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) in an effort to ensure safety on the roads. The 15-seater buses, all together valued at $6 million, form part of a $50 million revolving fund set aside for the transportation industry. So far, money spent in procuring vehicles amounts to $9 million. Following an agreement with the GPRTU in October last year to enable their members to own new vehicles, the bank started with an initial 88 buses for the union to distribute to its members. The new buses cost $30,OOO each and the payment would be done in instalments for four years. The Managing Director of Stanbic Bank, Mr Alhassan Andani, said at the presentation ceremony in Accra yesterday that the partnership with GPRTU was not only for its members own a bus, but also for the bank to support value chain. "This is a commercial relationship and not only 'own a car' business. We will ensure that the value chain of GPRTU is looked after," Mr Andani stated. He said a small study by the bank showed that members of the GPRTU contributed significantly to the country's total productivity (GDP) and it was important to integrate such a large informal sector into the mainstream banking system. "What to some was a challenge was to Stanbic Bank an inspiration. We believed and saw yet another opportunity to live up to our tag line of being inspired, motivated and involved," Mr Andani stated. He urged the drivers to maintain the vehicles regularly so they would last, adding that the new buses would now guarantee them more hours on the road than in the workshop. The Stanbic managing director indicated that a country aspiring to be a middle income country could not still rely on second-hand vehicles from the manufacturer countries, saying the purchase of the vehicles marked the beginning of another wealth-creating venture for the owners. The National Vice Chairman of GPRTU, Alhaji Tetteh Antiaye, expressed the hope that the release of the vehicles would strengthen the relationship between the bank and the union. He said the members were required to deposit 10 per cent of the cost and thereafter pay in instalments for four years. Alhaji Antiaye expressed the hope that the bank would extend the relationship to other sub-sectors of the transportation industry such as the haulage industry, which would be a major boost in checking rising food prices. "Members of the GPRTU pledge to redeem our monthly instalments promptly to help deepen the relationship and enable others to benefit," the GPRTU national vice chairman said. The Managing Director of Auto Parts, suppliers of the buses, Mr Subhi Accad, urged the drivers to maintain the vehicles regularly and at the appropriate place. Mr Accad said the company would also help the owners with after-sales maintenance• services to enable the vehicles last. Stanbic said it would again present 30 Tata Indigo salon cars to taxi drivers in a couple of weeks. The bank is a subsidiary of Standard Bank Africa, which has been cited many times as the continent's biggest bank by way of assets and profitability. It has recently, as part of its Africa expansion drive, extended its operations to Nigeria, operating as Stanbic- IBTC after acquiring majority stake in IBTC Bank. The world's largest bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), bought 20 per cent stake in Standard Bank, thus helping the African bank to extend its presence into the world's fastest growing economy, as well as the Asian market. Source: Daily Graphic