Any time fuel prices, spare parts, other levies relating road transport go up, we will also adjust our lorry fares

A number of driver unions have collectively announced a 20 percent fare increment effective Monday, May 17, 2021.

On Saturday, May 1, 2021, the Akufo-Addo government introduced a number of taxes on goods and services to raise money for the 2021 national budget.

Subsequent to the implementation of these taxes, the prices of petroleum products have seen a higher hike and commercial drivers have since agitated for increment in fares.

Majority of ghanaians have rejected against these new taxes and complained that they are already suffering from the effect of COVID-19 pandemic for which many have lost their jobs and more businesses on their kneels, it seems their plea on the government to suspend these taxes were not heeded to in these times of economic hardships.

Press statement by Commercial Road Transport
Operators on 20% increase in lorry fares

SUNDAY, 16TH MAY, 2021.

The Ghana Committed Drivers Association, Truth Drivers Union,
Concern Drivers Association and other unions and associations, wish to inform our customers and the general public that we have increased our lorry fares by 20% effective tomorrow, Monday, 17th May, 2021.

The increase has become necessary in view of the number of taxes on fuel announced by the Government in the 2021 budget and was subsequently approved by Parliament. The implementation was
effective 1st May 2021 and it has been running for a little over 2 weeks.

A gallon of fuel which used to be sold at the pump for GHC 24.52
pesewas is now sold at GHC 27.22 pesewas. Also, prices of spare parts and DVLA charges have shot up considerably.

With these developments, if we delay any further in increasing lorry fares by at least 20%, our transport business will collapse.

We, therefore, wish to impress upon our customers and the general public to bear with us as we have also factored their financial situation into our calculations before arriving at the 20%. For the sake of our customers and the general public, we arrived at the 20% lorry fare increase by dividing 120 by 100 and multiplying it
by the old or existing lorry fare.

Our dear customers and the general public must know that we have absorbed a lot of the petroleum products price increases for a long time and have gotten to a stage where we can no longer contain it. We selflessly operated and abided by the decision of the
stakeholders to increase lorry fares twice in a year.

However, we
the private road transport operators have been at the receiving end of this decision for far too long.

While we diligently obey the decision, prices of petroleum products keep increasing without corresponding increases in lorry fares. We hold a strong view that this has become unfair business practice with a dire consequences
for our business.

We have therefore resolved that any time fuel prices, spare parts, and other levies relating road transport go up, we will also adjust our lorry fares to reflect the increment.

It is our considered view that we will only go by the decision to
increase lorry fares twice year if the powers that be can also ensure that prices of petroleum products and spare parts are not increase in the course of every year so as to guarantee stable prices and lorry fares.

We wish to state that we are not part of the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC) which together with the Government fix percentage increase in lorry fares. It must interest the general
public to note that the GPRTU for some time now has pulled out of the Council and now joined the TUC and has since been negotiating with the Government for increase in lorry fares on its own. It has even gone ahead to put it in its constitution, Article 2 (k). It will therefore be difficult for us to keep waiting for them to conclude negotiations on the percentage of increase in lorry fares.

As at 2016, a gallon of fuel for instance was between GHC 14.000
and GHC 16.00. Since 2017, the prices have increased astronomically to the current GHC 27.22 pesewas but without the corresponding increases in lorry fares. We, however, acknowledge the brief reduction in fuel prices during the peak of the Covid 19 last year from GHC 24.00 to GHC 19.00. Since then the price returned to GHC 24.00 until the recent fuel taxes were imposed.
We also wish to state that the strict implementation of the deregulation of the petroleum products sub-sector since 2012, has meant that government no longer subsidizes petroleum products except premix fuel.

However, the same Government has found it to be a convenient and easy way of generating revenue by imposing new taxes and increasing existing taxes on petroleum products.

We want to assure our customers and the general public that we are sensitive to the economic challenging situation we all find
ourselves but we also need to save our business from collapsing with this modest increase in lorry fare.

Remain assured of our best services.
Thank you.

Signed
Charles Danso
(Chairman, Ghana Committed Drivers Association)
0244-233929/0264-233929
Yaw Barimah
(PRO, Truth Drivers Union)
0500-312104/ 0554-822565
William Osei
(Chairman, Concern Drivers Association)
0202-965120/0242-971025