The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has said that it intends to raise transportation fares by 30%.
According to the Union, the raise will go into effect on Friday, May 13.
The decision is being made as a result of the recent increase in fuel costs, according to GPRTU.
The Union urged the government in April to eliminate various tariffs on petroleum items to help drivers and commuters, but President Akufo-Addo rejected the suggestion.
If that happens, the President claims it would cost the country $4 billion in income.
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Abass Imoro, the GPRTU’s Industrial Relations Officer, stated in an interview with Accra-based Citi News that efforts to reach the Ministry had been useless.
“We have been forced to make a decision. We were thinking of being sympathetic. We never wanted to take this decision, but government has not cooperated with us.
“Fuel prices keep shooting up, we wrote to the Transport Minister about our plans to increase transport fares, but we received no feedback. We are thus going to take a decision that will help us as well. We will disclose the revised prices by next Friday.”
In February 2022, when fuel costs averaged GH¢6.4 per litre, transportation fares increased by 15%.
A litre of fuel currently sells for GH¢10 after surpassing the GH¢8 per litre milestone in the first week of March 2022.
The Union claims that the action is necessitated by the rise in the price of petroleum products.
Commercial and private drivers, as well as other stakeholders, put pressure on the government to eliminate various fuel taxes in order to help consumers.
SOURCE: myjoyonline
