‘SPTC is performing perfectly,’ says board chairman |25 November 2015
The chairman of the Seychelles Public Transport Corporation (SPTC), Dr Steve Fanny, has declared that the company is currently performing perfectly.
Through this statement, Dr Fanny who is also special advisor to the Minister for Investment, Entrepreneurship Development and Business Innovation has refuted allegations in last week’s edition of the ‘Independent’ weekly newspaper that the parastatal company had made a loss of R14.7 million for the year 2014.
The SPTC board chairman was speaking at a press conference in his Victoria House office yesterday morning, where he was surrounded by the company’s chief executive (CEO) Geffy Zialor, deputy CEO Jules Baker and financial controller Margaret Ally. The ‘Independent’ was however not present at the press briefing.
“It is important to reply to the allegations as the aim of the SPTC is not to make a profit but to reply to a broader picture which is the social need of primarily transporting people to and from work on a daily basis and in such a way contribute to the country’s economy. We are looking at the bigger picture. SPTC is part of government’s social and economic strategy. The report made by the particular writer does not reflect a proper analysis of the financial situation but is a conclusion only drawn out of a snapshot. The figures have been misinterpreted,” he said.
Contrary to the claim of R14 million loss, Dr Fanny rather announced that the public transport company had recorded a R4 million revenue increase in 2014 –compared to 2013 – and that the R14 million referred to had gone in expenses such as employee salaries, allowances, commissions and pension costs; staff recruitment, vehicle maintenance, fuel, rise in operation costs due to an increase in routes as well as the construction of new terminals and depots.
“The figures cannot be considered as a loss but rather a rise in expenditure,” Dr Fanny explained, adding that “non-cash items such as depreciation must also be taken into consideration”.
“We have been accused of bringing Christmas too early to our employees. This rather shows that we are committed to the welfare of our workers and have brought them more benefits,” further commented the chairman of the company which employs more than 600 persons.
Answering to queries on the communication bills, he highlighted that this represents only R40,000 per month and cover telephone, internet as well as GPS (General Positioning System) which has been installed in buses in order to monitor their locations.
Dr Fanny also informed that special speedometers have equally been installed to control speed and that a total of 10 daily random alcohol tests are carried out on drivers, while all new recruits are tested for drug consumption.
“The company is far from being lenient in case of positive results,” Dr Fanny wished to ensure commuters.
Reacting to accusations of political victimisation reported in the social media against certain employees, Dr Fanny said “this does not exist at SPTC and an individual’s political affiliation is not the company’s concern”.
Admitting that some SPTC buses are ageing, Dr Fanny also confirmed that the company is expecting 34 new ones already ordered from Tata in India. To the proposal that private operators could help relieve SPTC of the burden of transporting more than 50,000 passengers in one single day, he commented that this could not ensure the current standard and that private commuters could be choosy where the routes are concerned.
The SPTC board chairman is also adamant that only the government subsidy of about R30 million per year will be able to keep bus fares low.
On the eventual reintroduction of a ‘park and ride’ service and the relocation of the Victoria Bus Terminal in order to ease traffic flow in the capital city, he noted that the decision is one of the Land Transport Agency and will also depend on the availability of parking spaces and bus lanes.