Spokesperson for the Concerned Drivers Association, David Agboado, has expressed the need for the Association to review its fares upwards anytime fuel prices goes up.
Mr Agboado revealed that it is not important for transport operators to meet with the Transport Ministry and the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC) before any upward adjustment in transport fares is made. He explained that the existing convention whereby the three parties meet to agree on an increase in fares has outlived its purpose owing to the fact that there is currently deregulation in fuel price build-up.
Mr. Agboado indicated that there is currently no subsidy in fuel prices, hence, meeting government to determine a percentage increase in transport fares is no longer needed.
“Normally government doesn’t have a say we increasing transport fares, but when government used to subsidise fuel price, there was some convention and that convention has broken down and we don’t want to go by it again. When the fuel price goes up, we must also adjust ours, that is why we are coming out with this.”
David Agboado
The spokesperson for the Concerned Drivers Association highlighted that government does not inform drivers before any increase in fuel prices at the pump is implemented. As such, a similar situation should be applied to the increase in transport fares.
“It was in 1995 thereabout that the convention was set because of the subsidisation of the fuel, but now there is no any subsidy, we go to the pump and buy it directly. When fuel price would increase they don’t inform us the stakeholders, we just go to the pump and it is announced that they have increased it. So it must be applied and that is what we will be doing these days.”
David Agboado
Adjustment of transport fares
Meanwhile, commenting on concerns that the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC) has not been in consultation with the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) to reach a consensus on a 20% increase in transport fares, the General Secretary of GRTCC, Emmanuel Ohene Yeboah emphasized that the usual convention has been for the Union to meet with the GRTCC and the Transport Ministry before any upward adjustment in transport fares is announced. However, he revealed that the Council is not aware of the 20% increase in transport fares.
“As a party, whenever there is a fuel increase and its corresponding increase in transport fares, the operators, that is the GPRTU and the GRTCC will meet together with the Ministry of Transport to discuss and agree on the percentage increase. But as I speak to you, there is no meeting of such nature, so for anybody to come out with a definite statement that we are going to increase by this percentage at this time, I don’t know.”
Emmanuel Ohene Yeboah
It will be recalled that the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) announced an upward adjustment of transport fares effective today, May 7, 2022. Samuel Amoah, a member of the National Communication Team of the GPRTU, revealed that the increase is as a result of President Akufo-Addo’s comments that government cannot afford to remove taxes on petroleum products.
“So, this news came to us and then we also came to a round table and found out that there is nothing they could do about reducing the taxes on petroleum products, that is why we also organized ourselves, did our calculations and now from… May 7, we are coming up with 20% upward adjustment in our transport fares.”
Samuel Amoah
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