By Ogenyi Ogenyi,Uyo
Akwa Ibom state government has said that it has sacked two members of the state Task Force in charge of Minibus operations for complacency in the death of some commutters in the state recently.
It has also said it would soon begin to conduct drug and alcohol tests on members of the task force to reduce infractions between them, drivers and commutters across the state.
Transport Commissioner Mr Orman Esin told correspondents in Uyo yesterday that plans have also been concluded to profile members of the task force inorder to weed out those with criminal records.
Esin said that apart from the two members that were sacked, others also implicated in the tragedy would also be punished inorder to serve as a deterrent to others in the habit of harrassing and intimidating drivers and commuters.
On plans to introduce Compressed Natural Gas buses to cusion the effect of fuel subsidy removal, the commissioner said the vehicles may not be sustainable in the short run because of the complexity and absence of a gas distribution network, but said that electric vehicles could be considered because of it’s flexibility.
Esin maintained that petroleum subsidy removal would ogour well for the economy if the Federal Government would be sincere about it adding that Palliative though needed in the short run would not be able to solve the problems of subsidy in the short run and not sustainable.
He said that inadequate legal framework has impeded the developement of a viable and sustainable marine transport system in the area but added that the ministry is already in talk with experts to help it develope a sustainable legal framework that would stand the teat if times.
According to the commissioner, the state attracts less than five percent revenue from it’s marine transport potentials but added that it would soon inaugurate a local content committee to redress the abnormally while it has began to Interface with the ministry of internal security to improve security at sea.
