The Concerned Drivers Association Ghana has refused to go back to the negotiating table with government with respect to its decision to increase transport fares by 40 percent come January 17.

The Association believes that any deliberation on the matter with government is a lost cause as there have been precedents which did not yield any desired result for its members. Speaking in an interview, Public Relations Officer for the Concerned Drivers Association Ghana (C-DAG), David Agboado, explained that the reluctance of government has forced the association to take drastic measures in a bid to stay in business.

“This time around we don’t want to sit with government. The reason being that, we started this thing since October up until date. We wrote to government, the ministers came to us, we went to them before this demonstration on the 6^th December. Yet still, after 6^th December, we were called by Madam Frema Opare [to] dialogue and ‘jaw jaw’ [and] we did it. As I’m speaking, she said she’ll do something about it but up until date, nothing has been done. So, we have decided to increase our lorry fare so that we can keep ourselves in business”.

Elaborating on the various transport unions in the country, Mr Agboado emphasized that the association is in no way affiliated to the Ghana Private Road Transport Union. He explained that members of his group operate “buses, coaches, trotro and taxis”, with branches dotting every region of the country.

Following this, Mr Agboado maintained that C-DAG on its own can increase transport fares without having to “sit” with government. He asserted that the reason they “thrash” issues with government first is to avoid taking matters in their own hand.

“With this one, we started this thing with the hope [that] government will do something about it. But as we stand now, government is not doing anything about it. If we keep our fingers crossed that government will do something about it, our business, that’s the transport industry, will collapse and we don’t want it to collapse”.

Increase in transport fare by 40 %

Effective January 17, the Association seeks to increase transport fares by 40%. Commenting on the reason for such high percentage, Mr Agboado revealed that a lot of variables were considered before his outfit arrived at the figure. Among other things, he explained that the cost of lubricants are high in the market, an item which is crucial in the maintenance of vehicles.

“Formerly, we were buying GOIL GHC65 but now it’s GHC110. Total was GHC75 per gallon, it’s now GHC115. When you go to market to go and purchase spare parts; when you go to Abossey Okai, the sprinter [spare part] that was going for GHC1, 800 is now GHC2, 500. So, I may say all that we are using for our transport have shot up, that’s why we want to charge 40% from the 17^th of this very month”.

Mr Agboado intimated that the association will only reverse its intended increase in transport fares if government is able to scrap “taxes” on fuel.