The Ghana Private Road Transport Union, GPRTU has disclosed of a likely increase in transport fares, following the recent hikes in fuel prices.
Transport fares are set to go up because, prices of petroleum products went up on Monday September 2, 2019 after the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) directed the Oil Marketing Companies to begin applying the revised Energy Sector Levies.
According to the Chairman of GPRTU, Kwame Kuma the new transport fares will soon be made public.
“We have already met with the Transport Minister about the increment. We visited the Minister but he was not available but if he comes we are going to meet and make sure that the new prices are released…There will definitely be an increment,” he said.
The increase is as a result of the Road Fund Levy, Energy Debt Recovery Levy, as well as the Price Stabilization and Recovery Levy increased up by about 20 percent.
Transport fares were last increased by the GPRTU in April 2017 by 15 percent.
However, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana has stated that Increasing fuel taxes which will directly affect transport fares is ill-timed, completely insensitive.
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In a statement signed by its Executive Secretary, Duncan Amoah, , it said, “this move at increasing fuel taxes is nothing but ill-timed, ill-advised and completely insensitive as its repercussions on the country and the people will far outweigh any benefits anticipated thereof from this needless increases.”
The OMCs are “demanding without delay, an immediate reversal and withdrawal of this recent hikes in order to make way for further dialogue on the current fuel price build-up with the view to reversing the recent unfortunate trend of persistent increases…”
