Chairman of the parliamentary Select Committee on Roads and Transport, Mr. Kennedy Osei Nyarko has called on the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) to be patient with the government in their demand for the reduction of fuel prices and other taxes.
According to Mr. Nyarko, the government is working tirelessly to address their concerns and has therefore called on the leadership of GPRTU to come to the negotiation table with the government to be able to address their demands.
The Coalition of private transport operators consists of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Association of Tipper Truck Drivers, Harbor Transport Owners, Ghana National Cargo Transport Association, Ghana Committed Drivers Association, Concerned Drivers Association, Digital Drivers, Commercial motorbike riders, among others.
The Coalition embarked on a nationwide strike Monday to register their displeasure on the government’s refusal to meet their earlier demands to scrap taxes like the Price Stabilization and Recovery Levy, Special Petroleum Tax, the Energy Recovery Debt Levy, and the Sanitation levy.
According to the coalition, the government for the past few weeks has refused to heed their calls for some taxes to be scrapped.
Speaking on GBC and monitored by ATL FM, Mr. Kennedy Nyarko urged the coalition to exercise patience because the recession of tax decisions by the government goes through a series of processes that take time.
“Even with the earlier directive that the NPA should work with the Ministry of Energy to ensure that the price stabilization recovery levy which is sixteen pesewas on petrol and fourteen pesewas on diesel they suspend it for two months. Even with that parliament have not been able to work on it so it is still hanging.”
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Meanwhile, the Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA), Dr. John Kwaku Mensah Mawutor has blamed the current and successive governments for their failure to address transport and driver’s concerns.
To him, the strike by the coalition has caused great harm to the nation.
“I don’t think successive governments consider transportation as an essential service. What happened on Monday if you are to quantify them in monetary terms and probably get to know the lives that were lost; a number of people lost their examination periods because of what happened.” He stressed.
He said the nation can only develop if the government gives the needed attention to the transportation sector.
Source: Eric Sekyi/ATLFMNEWS
