The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has admonished the government to scrap taxes on petroleum products within two days or face pressure to increase transport fares nationwide.
According to the GPRTU, they will be forced to take action should the government fail to address their issues.
Speaking in a media interview, Samuel Amoah, Deputy Public Relations Officer of GPRTU, said he raised concerns over the fuel price spike and its cascading impact on operators.
“We came up with this release and gave the government two days to do something about it,” Amoah said.
“If they fail to do what this increment can, then we have no option but to organise ourselves to request an increment of transport fares for our members.”
Meanwhile, the National Petroleum Authority announced new ex-pump price floors for April 1 to April 15.
The price of petrol has increased to GHS 13.30 per litre and diesel to GHS 17.10 per litre.
The prices were previously at GHS 11.57 and GHS 14.35 per litre, respectively.
He stated that the GPRTU does not only factor the costs of fuel in increasing prices but also other factors such as spare parts, insurance policies and DVLA taxes.
He said all these prices have increased.
Mr Amoah lamented that insurance premiums for commercial buses have jumped dramatically.
According to him, sprinter buses that previously paid 933 cedis now pay 1,194 cedis—a rise of over 260 cedis.
Toyota minibuses saw similar increases, moving from 837 cedis to 995 cedis. DVLA penalties for late vehicle insurance renewal have more than doubled, he added.
He announced that the GPRTU will be meeting and will later send a proposed adjustment of fares to the Ministry of Transport for final approval.
“What the government, the president, is saying is something they can’t control right now, but the transport operators may be forced to,” Amoah concluded.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
